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1 27 iS20 



"In your book," said Earus, "pray you tell me what sort 
of people you found them. What do they do? Are the 
men likable? What the women look like. Of their inns, 
and how they live. Of their work and how they do it : — if 
there be unusual rogues among them I care not, for well I 
know that honest men outnumber them. — Then tell me of 
their good and valiant King and Queen, and if the Country 
be prosperous — and how much my money will buy there, 
and I'll thank ye, — and I'll seek the rest for myself." 

"The Wanderings of Earus." 



JForrtJorti 



"To me," said King Albert, on the occasion of his tri- 
umphant entry into Brussels, "the sweetest of sounds will 
be the ring of the workman's hammer," and this speech 
proclaims the man upon whom all eyes are now turned, 
who occupies so modestly the position of the Hero King. 
And now the hammers are indeed ringing, and the coun- 
try is rapidly returning to normal conditions. It is per- 
haps not generally known that Belgium, in proportion to 
its size, is the most thickly populated country in Europe ; 
its population per square mile being more than three 
times that of France, and nearly double that of England. 

The excellent condition of Belgium's finances and in- 
dustries before the war has to a large extent made this 
rapid recovery possible. With an area of 1 1,373 square 
miles, somewhat larger than Vermont, and a population 
in 1914 of 7,500,000, equal to that of all the New Eng- 
land States, Belgium was the most densely populated 
and intensively cultivated country in the world, one man 
in every six being a land-owner. The thrift and indus- 
try of the Belgian people had earned their country the 
eighth place among the nations of the world in wealth 
and the sixth place in volume of total foreign trade, 
which in 1912 amounted to $1,723,000,000. 

7 



FOREWORD 

Before the Great War the customs returns showed that 
commercially Belgium occupied first position as regards 
the value of imports for 1,000 inhabitants, and this is re- 
markable when it is considered that fifty years ago the 
little country was merely on the threshold of colonial 
expansion, having no shipping of her own, and depend- 
ing upon foreign transport for her oversea commerce. 
Belgium had in that short period attained a position in 
the front rank of commerce by unflagging energy and 
enterprise, and the merited confidence inspired by the 
probity of her manufacturers, and the excellence of her 
products. Her industrial activity is displayed in almost 
every direction : coal mines, copper mines, iron and steel 
and zinc works, the manufacture of plate glass, an art in 
which her workmen are world famous; sugar refineries 
and carpet weaving — in each of these pursuits Belgium 
led. 

What wonder then that Germany cast covetous eyes 
upon such a land, and quietly sent her agents with full 
purses to Antwerp and Brussels to purchase controlling 
interests in her enterprises for years before William was 
ready to move on the way to the Channel? 

Briefly, the country is divided into two distinct reg- 
ions : The western and northern portions, made up of 
wide plains which, especially in Flanders, are of un- 
equalled fertility, where the inhabitants are exclusively 
Flemish. To the east and south the Walloons are to be 

8 



FOREWORD 

found, and here the country changes its characteristics 
and language; a land of wood and mountain with great 
escarped cliffs and mysterious horizons. Here are the 
grand valleys of the Meuse, Lesse, Houyoux, Ambleve, 
Ourthe, Semois, and the rugged summits of the ranges of 
the Ardennes, which formed, before the war, the regions 
of the great Belgian industries in coal mines, smelting 
and steel foundries, and glass works before mentioned. 

Belgium, although thus given over to commercial en- 
terprises and the exploitation of her mineral resources, 
had not entirely lost sight of the arts for which her mas- 
ters were so celebrated in past centuries. 

"Flanders is the epitome of the past; a marvelous relic 
of the Middle Ages; the cradle of two races which have 
produced men of state and men of affairs ; bold governors ; 
great artists and scholars, fearless warriors; a land of 
heroes, saints and martyrs." 

The Flemish towns, bearing names renowned in the 
arts of painting and architecture and for the sumptuous 
taste of the people, still retained their characteristics up 
to the time when the terrible flame of war swept the land; 
and while Ypres has vanished forever, the cathedrals and 
halls of such towns as Bruges and Ghent, and Brussels 
and Antwerp, remain for our delight, with all their rich 
treasures of paintings and sculpture. 

The country is so rich in resources that its complete re- 
covery must be very rapid. Its people are workers, and 

9 



FOREWORD 

its merchants purposeful. Millions of Belgian capital 
are also invested in foreign and colonial enterprises. 
The reorganization of Siamese administrative affairs was 
placed in the hands of Belgians, who successfully ex- 
ploited it, and the customs and postal service of Persia 
are managed by Belgian officials. It has perhaps been 
forgotten that Belgium was the first European nation to 
establish a railway, and that she had a greater mileage of 
railways in 1914 (2,530 miles) than any other conti- 
nental country. These are but a few of the surprising 
facts concerning this tiny kingdom whose coast line on 
the channel is only forty-five miles in length, and whose 
Constitution, drafted in a time of great emergency, has 
only required modification in matters which the increase 
of population and the march of democratic ideas have 
brought up in every country. This is because it was 
based upon the principles of a very comprehensive and 
unfettered liberty. 

Let us see something of the high state of civilization 
which prevailed in the low country, now Belgium, in the 
Middle Ages, when parchment and paper, the arts of 
printing and engraving, blown glass, steel, gunpowder, 
clocks, telescopes, the mariner's compass, the decimal no- 
tation, the reformed calendar, trigonometry, counter- 
point, algebra and chemistry all were there in common 
use. When the Menapians occupied the provinces of 
Flanders, Antwerp, and Brabant, many of them held high 

10 



FOREWORD 

posts in the Imperial Roman Army. "The remains of the 
ancient towns in these provinces, which were over- 
whelmed by inundation, are at present covered by the sea, 
and fierce storms often cast up on the shores flotsam and 
jetsam bearing Latin inscriptions referring to ancient 
Menapians." (Grattan.) Even in the earliest period 
of their occupation they were known as a maritime people, 
exporting salt to England and salted meats to Italy. 
"The men," continues Grattan, "were handsome and 
richly clothed; and the land was well cultivated, and 
abounding with milk and honey." Later on they were 
to grow up the great merchant cities of the Hanseatic 
League, the pioneers of modern progress. 

The Crusaders from Bruges and Ghent introduced silk 
and sugar into Europe ; likewise the windmill, which, in- 
vented in Asia Minor and transported to Flanders, was 
to prove of untold value in the country's development. 
We find that the Flemish guilds to manufacture salt, and 
for bringing under cultivation the marshy grounds, as- 
cend to the Roman epoch. (Moke's "Moeurs et Usages 
des Beiges.") From the early seventh century Bruges, 
Antwerp, and Ghent are "ports," or privileged markets, 
serving as commercial depots for both north and south. 

It was in a great degree due to the valor and prudence 
of Godfrey de Bouillon, a Flemish knight, and his ten 
thousand horsemen and eighty thousand infantrymen, 
that the first Crusade owed its success. 

11 



FOREWORD 

In the year 1272 there was such a body of Genoese in 
Flanders that Charles of Anjou petitioned to have them 
driven out of the country. So strong, however, was pub- 
lic opinion, that they remained, maintaining cordial re- 
lations, and later Philip the Fair of France compelled 
Guy de Dampierre to restore the property he took from 
the "Lombards" settled in Flanders. Dealing in money 
and jewels was confined strictly to these Lombard Jews. 
Their goods were displayed in a large warehouse called 
the House of the Lombards, and similar warehouses were 
established in other towns. Guiccardini, who is an au- 
thority upon the manners and customs of the Netherlands 
in the sixteenth century, was a Florentine, nephew of the 
famous Italian historian, who lived in Antwerp for many 
years, and in 1563 published there an extensive descrip- 
tive volume. Hallam, writing of the commerce of Eu- 
rope, says : "The northern portion was first animated by 
the woolen manufactures of Flanders." A writer of the 
thirteenth century asserts that all the world was clothed 
from wool wrought in Flanders. Robertson | "Charles 
V," Am. Ed. 1770, i, 69] says that the manufacture of 
wool seems to have been "considerable in the Nether- 
lands in the time of Charlemagne." 

"The manufacture of woolen cloth was an industry so 
important to northern nations that its introduction marks 
an epoch in their history. Before this period they had 
nothing but skins as material for warm clothing. This 

12 



FOREWORD 

had its origin in Flanders, but at a period so early that 
historians cannot fix the date." (Douglas Campbell, 
"The Puritan in Holland, England and America.") 

Thus with the cloth industry and the manufacture of 
silk, linen, tapestry, lace and Dinanderie or copper work- 
ing, Flanders became the manufacturing as well as the 
commercial headquarters of the world. Her exports in- 
creased, and there gathered in her splendid cities of 
Bruges and Ghent the products of all markets; velvets 
and glass from Italy; drugs and spices from India; wines 
from France and Spain; furs, metals, wax and copper 
from Norway and Russia. 

In 1370 in the town of Malines there were thirty-two 
hundred woolen factories, while in Ghent were gathered 
forty thousand weavers and one hundred and eighty-nine 
thousand members of Guilds bearing arms. Bruges had 
a Guild of Goldsmiths in 1380 which formed an entire 
army division. (Taine, "Art in the Netherlands," page 
86.) 

About 1380, the English, taught by the Flemish emi- 
grants, first began to make coarse woolen cloth. (South- 
erden Burns. "Protestant Refugees in England," page 
4.) When Philip the Good founded at Bruges his new 
order of chivalry, he chose as an emblem a golden fleece. 
The Artists of the Netherlands (Flanders) had woven 
the wool into gold. (Conway's "Early Flemish Artists," 
page 57.) 

13 



FOREWORD 

With wealth pouring in from all quarters, art natur- 
ally followed in the wake of commerce. Nowhere was 
the cultivation of architecture more general than in Flan- 
ders. Knowledge of the Middle Ages is so imperfect 
that little can be written with certainty about the men 
who designed and built the wondrous cathedrals and 
guild halls; but it is believed that these superb structures 
owe their origin to a great secret masonic league or guild, 
bound probably by religious vows, with headquarters in 
France and the Netherlands, and branches elsewhere in 
Europe. To a branch of this league are attributed the 
splendid buildings with which the Netherlands adorned 
the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. "Chief among these 
buildings were the cathedrals of Flanders and Brabant" 
(Motley). Burgher opulence and energy are grandly 
and vigorously expressed in the secular buildings of these 
towns. For example, we have the Hall of the Cloth 
Makers (destroyed in 1915), at Ypres; Town Hall at 
Bruges, 1284; Council House at Bruges, 1377; Council 
House at Brussels, 1401—55; the still more magnificent 
Town Hall at Louvain, belonging to the second half of 
the fifteenth century; and that at Oudenarde, built in 
1527 — (destroyed in 1915). (Lubke's "History of 
Art.") 

In presenting this study of economic life and man- 
ners of the Belgians, the result of years of observation 
and sympathetic appreciation of the remarkable qualities 

H 



FOREWORD 

of the people of whom so little was known up to the out- 
break of the war, the author realizes that it is far from 
complete, that it contains many errors, some misstate- 
ments and omissions, and that he has merely touched 
superficially upon the lives, manners, and admirable ac- 
complishments of the Belgians, whose fair country has 
yet again served as "the Cockpit of Europe," but he ven- 
tures the hope that the reader will discover, writ between 
the lines, something of the enthusiasm which animated his 
work. The author desires to express his appreciation and 
thanks to the Belgian Consul in New York, the Hon. 
Pierre Mali, for his kindly interest and assistance in fur- 
nishing many details otherwise unobtainable, and also to 
Messrs. Winkelmolen, Coninckx, and Claessens of Ant- 
werp for the verification of important historical data, ex- 
pressly stating that none of these gentlemen are respon- 
sible for the defects of the book, or for any of the state- 
ments or conclusions. 

The Author. 
Greenwich, Connecticut, July, 1920. 



1* 



dmM% 



PAGE 



Foreword 7 

Prosperity and the "Flamingant" Movement . 21 

The Campine and Beyond 28 

Antwerp 40 

Brussels 92 

Ghent 125 

Bruges ............ 150 

Tournai 176 

couillet 189 

Li£ge 198 

Mons 213 

The Congo Colony ......... 235 

Notes, and Some Characteristics .... 244 

Anniversary of Belgian Independence . . . 255 

The Belgian Constitution 262 

dlnant and the mosan towns ..... 268 

The Glorious Story of the Yser . * „ .291 

Cardinal Mercier ......... 301 

The King and the Queen . . . . . .316 

La Panne 324 

Index 333 



Illustrations 



PAGE 



Maison du Roi (Broodhuis) , Brussels, the Royal 

Entrance . . . . ., . . Frontispiece 

Title Page 

40 



The Town Hall — Brussels 

The Terraces — Antwerp 

Guild Houses — Antwerp 

The Cathedral — Antwerp 

The Bourse — Antwerp . 

The Bourse — Antwerp . 

Steen Castle — Antwerp . 

Gothic Stalls in the Cathedral — Antwerp 

Courtyard of the Printing House of Christopher 
Plantin 

The Tower of St. Jacques . 

The Porte de Hal — Brussels . 

Guild Houses — Brussels 

The Palace of Justice — Brussels 

Ste. Gudule, Nightfall . 

Guild Hall of the Watermen — Ghent . 

The Castle of Gerard-le-Diable — Ghent 

Old St. Nicholas — Ghent . . . 



54 
56 
60 

64 
66 
68 

70 

78 
90 
110 
124 
130 
136 
140 
142 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Doorway of the Fish Market — Ghent . 
Old Houses in the Rue d'Flamende 
Hospital of St. Jean — Bruges . 
The Belfry — Bruges . . . . 
The Old Ostend Gate — Bruges 
The Library — Bruges 
Flemish Lacemakers — Bruges . 
The Rue de l'Ane Aveugle — Bruges ... 
Some Old Houses — Bruges ., 
Tournai Cathedral . . . . 
Church of Sainte Marguerite — Tournai 
The Great Iron Works — Couillet . 

Mont de Piete — Liege , 

Palace of the Prince Bishops — Liege . 
The Ancient "Perron" at Liege 
The Town Hall of Mons . 
Hallway of the Town Hall — Mons ., 
Cathedral of St. Waudru .., 
Cathedral — Dinant . . ., . ,., ., 
Portal of the Virgin — Huy . 
Old Gateway and Church Bouvignes . 
Cardinal Mercier (with his benediction) 



PAGE 
144 

154 
158 
l60 
I64 
168 
170 
172 

174 
178 

184 

192 

200 
202 
. 206 
. 2l6 

,.. 222 
, 23O 
..1 272 
„, 280 
... 284 
,. 310 



flgini 

#I& and Ifto 




aunt" motewnt 

Gjfc O sooner was the Armistice signed, than Antwerp 
111 awoke as from a terrible nightmare. The open 
*f^ gateway of the nation, through which it receives 
and sends forth the products of the industrious people, its 
docks, once more resound with the clamor of a busy mart, 
and already it has resumed its place as one of the chief 
ports of Europe. Belgian exports, especially its coal, 

21 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

are again going forth, and this is certainly an excellent 
symptom of the Renaissance. For the first time in his- 
tory the Belgian franc exceeds the French franc in value. 

Against this cheerful tableau is the national debt of 
18,000,000,000 francs, and the havoc and ruin of the 
Belgian factories, the result of the German removal and 
destruction of machinery and buildings. Although a 
number of these have been rebuilt and equipped with re- 
stored and new machinery, many hundreds of the great 
works are still in a ruinous state, and this has brought 
about a new danger which is causing great anxiety to the 
Belgian capitalists and employers. 

There has been a great exodus of workmen to England 
and France from the districts where the factories are 
ruined. The French have offered very high wages, and 
a good Belgian workman can get ten thousand francs a 
year in France with better living, whereas formerly in 
Belgium he received hardly more than a third of that 
sum. What wonder then that he is eager to leave the 
country. 

One learns from the leading journals that the country 
now is not so much concerned over the industrial condi- 
tions as it is about the political problem now confronting 
it. The leading men do not now fear the menace of rev- 
olution which before the outbreak of the Great War had 
assumed threatening proportions. Belgium then had an 
anarchical party working with more or less secrecy to un- 

22 



THE "FLAMINGANT" MOVEMENT 

dermine the foundations of social order, but, as one offi- 
cial said, "The great mass of the Belgian people are 
gifted with a fund of common sense which will render 
any such attempt abortive." The Belgians are slow and 
not easily fired by any show of passionate emotion. 
What is really more of a danger to the unity of the coun- 
try is the attempt to separate the people by a linguistic 
division. 

It is difficult for a foreigner to understand what is now 
happening in Belgium. There is a very strong and de- 
termined movement on the part of the Flemish-speaking 
people to boycott the use of French as a national second- 
ary language. The people now for many years have 
been bilingual — Flemish and Walloons. French was 
the official language of the courts and municipalities of 
the country before the Austrian domination. German 
propaganda, before and during the Great War, inaugur- 
ated a powerful campaign to drive the use of French 
from the schools and the press, and substitute Flemish as 
the written and spoken tongue. To those who cannot 
read between the lines this may seem merely historical, 
and of trivial importance. Really it represents a great 
danger to the nation. It is carefully nursed and fo- 
mented by reactionaries who fear the loss of the power 
they hitherto have held. 

Before the war the clericals were most powerful in all 
matters of state. They were closely organized and held 

23 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

a majority of the seats in Parliament. They are now 
faced by a proportional representation, and also the in- 
creasing power of the labor groups. Their majority is 
thus challenged and at stake, and they see in the future 
little chance of maintaining their former mastery of the 
Government unless their arguments prevail with the peo- 
ple. The Flemish movement being powerfully sup- 
ported by the various parish priests — who are almost en- 
tirely recruited from the peasant class — the clerical party, 
by the use of the reactionary spirit, hopes that they may 
retain their strength and power. 

The most liberal minded of the Catholics, headed by 
Cardinal Mercier, are all said to be strongly opposed to 
the so-called Flemish movement, and the attempt to sep- 
arate religion from politics. They desire the mainte- 
nance of the Flemish tongue, but they also advocate the 
retention of the bilingual system which unites the two 
peoples and enables them to maintain their relationship 
with European culture. The men who are now at work 
to nullify this "Flamingant" movement are all men of 
the highest order of intelligence and patriotism, and the 
new party which they are forming aims at the gathering 
together of all the liberals in the nation, whatever their 
religious belief, to work for the unity and progress of Bel- 
gium, and its attainment of a larger place in the great 
world by right of industry, liberty, and social well-being. 
They look to the demobilized soldier, now rapidly resum- 

24 



THE "FLAMINGANT" MOVEMENT 

ing his place in the rebuilt workshops and mills, to help 
them attain this place. These soldiers have had their 
baptism of fire ; they have been in touch with the men of 
other nations, and their point of view must necessarily be 
enlarged and broadened. The problems of life have 
been brought before them, and they have seen death in 
horrible form. These men now think as they never 
thought before. They are become the propagandists of 
national Belgian unity. They must see more clearly the 
reason of closer communion with their neighbors ; that sus- 
picion of the good will shown them is unworthy, and that 
the future prosperity of Belgium is in the hollow of their 
hands. 

Three socialist ministers, Wauters, Anseele, and Van- 
dervelde, are at the head of the administration, and are 
exerting a powerful influence in discouraging the strike 
tendencies among the workmen, due to propaganda. 
These officials, aided by such men as M. Ferdinand Neu- 
ray, editor of the Nation Beige, which has a wide and 
rapidly increasing influence throughout Belgium, are 
keeping constructive ideals before the eyes of the work- 
men, and there are also very able administrators like M. 
Jaspar, Minister of Economic Affairs, and M. Renkin, 
Minister of Railways, whose work has been of the very 
greatest importance in the reconstruction of the destroyed 
railway system of Belgium. 

The problem which confronted M. Renkin might have 

25 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

appalled another man, but to-day, — due to his efforts— 
the activity of the railways is a definite economic ad- 
vantage over both France and Germany. At the date of 
the signing of the Armistice, according to his report, the 
Belgian State Railways had scarcely five hundred loco- 
motives available, and some of these needed repairs; yet, 
on the first of October last, two thousand passenger trains 
were in operation over reconstructed lines, and he was 
able to move 178,000 tons of freight. This is a remark- 
able result, when one reads in the report that practically 
the whole railway system west and south of a line drawn 
through Alost to the German frontier was completely de- 
stroyed by the Germans before they retired. All the 
bridges and the railway stations were blown up, and the 
rails were so twisted as to be useless. The whole signal- 
ing apparatus was destroyed; yet now, he says, the entire 
Belgian system of railways, except for about fifty kilo- 
meters of branch lines, is in working order and operated. 
Of course the railways could not be run without coal, 
and it is a fact that the coal mines are now almost in full 
operation and producing not merely enough to run the 
railways and the rebuilt factories, but producing a larger 
proportion of their pre-war output than those of any 
country in Europe. Factories for the production of beet 
sugar are also in operation, likewise a number of those 
devoted to the production of glass, matches, and textiles. 
Thus little Belgium, for years prostrate beneath the heel 

26 



THE "FLAMINGANT" MOVEMENT 

of the invader, is once more erect and bravely hard at 
work. The port of Antwerp is again open, and there is 
now a great coming and going of ships, all laden with 
prosperity. 

"Vive la Belgique!" The world rejoices. 



27 



9br (f tsmsto find Bwnd 

^^^N the way to Liege, after leaving Louvain, one 
flJMf takes leave once for all of everything Flemish. 

^^■^ Here is a new harvest of Belgian characteristics, 
and one is in the midst of another order of landscape. 
Brabant may be described as a sort of halting place be- 
tween Flanderland and Liegeland. Westward lie the 
lowlands, the sand dunes, and the North Sea. Eastward 
are the wooded hills, the first encompassing husbandry; 
the latter, manufacturing interests. Between the two is 
Brussels, like unto a vast, open-mouthed pocket into 
which the abundant treasure of both provinces is poured. 
Above the line of Antwerp, Malines, and Louvain is the 
great region, little known to the tourist, called the Camp- 
ine, which divides north from south Belgium. The di- 
versity of the landscape of Belgium has been well de- 
scribed by an Englishman (Mr. C. B. Huet) as "a faith- 
ful picture of the national unity born from opposite 
principles." 

Belgium is strikingly different from Holland, although 
the Flemish and Dutch tongues are so similar. In little 
Belgium one may see the sun rise over the sand dunes at 

28 



THE CAMPINE AND BEYOND 

the edge of the North Sea, and see it setting the same 
day among the cliffs of the wooded Ardennes, the smok- 
ing furnaces of Liege, or among the black pits of the Bor- 
inage. One may take luncheon on the Place Verte to the 
sound of the silvery chimes in the Cathedral, and sup well 
at "The Rosette" at Spa. When on the little glass-cov- 
ered terrace of this most famous hostelry, which is run by 
the former chef of the late Queen of the Belgians, he can 
be sure of his omelette. 

In his "Patria Belgica," M. Eugene Van Bemmelen has 
so well described the Campine district, that one cannot 
do better than quote it : "With the exception of the ter- 
ritory in the immediate neighborhood of Antwerp and 
Malines, the remainder of the province, and nearly the 
whole of Belgian Limburg are comprised in the Campine : 
a vast region of moorland extending to the Dutch fron- 
tier. To fully appreciate the aspect of the Campine, one 
must do more than follow the high roads and the banks of 
the canals. Favored by improved means of communica- 
tion, these spots merely represent the numerous attempts 
at reclaiming the land, attempts which have converted 
certain localities into what fitly may be called the battle- 
field of agricultural experiment. The soil adjacent to 
the communes has been greatly improved, and the crops 
remind one now and then of those of more prolific coun- 
tries. The villagers have their dwellings close to one an- 
other; they are well constructed, kept in good repair, and 

29 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

upon the whole unlike the preconceived ideas with regard 
to them. Among the towns Herenthals, the capital of 
the Campine, has a very interesting appearance, thanks 
to its long street gradually widening into an oval open 
square, in the center of which uprises the Town Hall with 
its belfry; after which it becomes narrower and narrower, 
and ceases abruptly on the confines of the country. Nor 
should we omit to mention a few country seats like West- 
erloo, surrounded by magnificent parks, at the end of 
which runs the Grande Nethe, and a few priories like that 
of Averbode, preserved in almost pristine splendor, or 
like that of Tongerloo, which has nothing left of its past 
grandeur but an imposing avenue of centenarian lime 
trees. But all this is not the Campine, and has no inter- 
est save for its presenting the unexpected contrast of 
civilization in the midst of the desert. To get the full 
impression of this strange contrast, of the weird nature 
of the whole, we must make our way by hill and dale di- 
rect from Diest or Sichem to Averbode, and from Aver- 
bode to Westerloo. Several very steep banks topped by 
stunted larches and fantastically shaped old pines are but 
the introduction to the scene, then come vast tracts of 
gorse, of small heather; huge tufts of broom grass, very 
like hair standing on end, a mass of somber coarse vegeta- 
tion, altogether contrasting with the green, calm, smiling 
landscape on the banks of the Demer one has just left. 
In a little while we get to the endless plantations of firs 

30 



THE CAMPINE AND BEYOND 

of all sizes, intersected only now and then by downright 
oceans of sand, and sand hills spotted with bluish patches 
like ash heaps. Long avenues where one sinks knee deep 
in grass, or ankle deep in fine impalpable sand, wind 
across the forest, their paths and ruts sloping now this 
way, then that. Solitude reigns supreme ; silence every- 
where, not even a singing bird; one hears nothing but the 
hum of the bee as it poises on the heather bloom, and the 
keen and melancholy winds soughing through the tops of 
the fir trees. The tourist who enters the Campine from 
the land of Waes between Ghent and Antwerp, can 
scarcely believe that nothing but a river divides him from 
the Garden of Flanders. The environs of St. Nicolas 
and the environs of Averbode appear each to be situated 
in a different part of the world, or only to belong to each 
other like 'Arabia Petra' and 'Arabia Felix.' As eag- 
erly as husbandry made itself master of the soil in one 
region, as indifferently did it abdicate to the picturesque 
in the other, leaving moor and fir undisputed sway. 
Railways, as I have already said, intersect the Campine 
without having inspired the least wish to reclaim the 
land. Canals do not exist. Sand and pine woods and 
heather claim half the province of Limburg for their 
own." (C. B. Huet.) 

"The Limburg Campine," continues M. Van Bemme- 
len, "presents different aspects still; some more melan- 
choly, others more austere. In parts, fir plantations less 

31 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

dense and fewer than elsewhere do not obstruct the view; 
and one beholds an immense plain, dotted with small hill- 
ocks and riddled with swamps and peat bogs. To the 
north of Hasselt and Diepenbeck one comes first of all 
upon some pastures with stunted and straggling grass, 
and equally meager crops, surrounded by oak fencing. 
Towards Beeringen on one side and Genck on the other, 
bogs and stagnant ponds succeed each other uninterrupt- 
edly, and lend themselves to a kind of romantic poesy 
that has often attracted the landscape painter. The ef- 
fect is especially striking when at nightfall those silent 
water sheets reflect the setting sun and lurid copper sky, 
while everything else around is already wrapt in dark- 
ness, and the outlines of the few juniper trees and 
gnarled pines stand boldly against the clear horizon in 
the far distance. But woe betide the stranger who loses 
his way here at dusk, woe to him if even in the day time he 
should deviate from the beaten track; should venture on 
those 'mosslands' ('Veenen' they are called in Flemish) 
whose surface when dry seems substantial enough, but 
when one lingers upon it, gives way, opens, and becomes 
an abyss that does not give up its prey." 

Between Hasselt and Leuven one comes upon the 
strange, little, almost forgotten town of Los, which is 
called Loon by the people of the countryside. Lying at 
the foot of a hill, it straggles along the road in a haphaz- 
ard fashion at once comical and melancholy, formed over 

32 



THE CAMPINE AND BEYOND 

from the hilltop by the ruins of a former mighty strong- 
hold. There is no railway near it, and there is, seem- 
ingly, little reason for its existence. According to his- 
tory however Los was of considerable importance in the 
sixteenth century, for the Bishops of Liege descended 
upon its stronghold and drove the family of Count Vos- 
sins, one of the chief supporters of the Reformation, into 
exile. 

In this castle of Loon, Ada of Holland spent the last 
few years of her life, and in the Abbey of Herkenrode is 
still to be seen the tomb of this unhappy woman and her 
lord and master. 

The inquisitive tourist in search of information finds 
that considerably more than one-half of the population of 
the Kingdom of Belgium lives away from the large towns 
and cities. To this fact is attributed the remarkably 
cultivated appearance of the landscape as seen from the 
windows of the railway carriages, especially in the prov- 
inces of Flanders, Brabant and Hainaut, where the farms 
and houses are so close together that it seems to be one 
continuous village in the midst of beautifully cultivated 
fields. 

The district west of the Scheldt River, known as the 
"Pays de Waes," extending from Antwerp southwest to 
the city of Ghent, formerly an almost desert waste of 
marsh and bog, was, at the outbreak of the war, an almost 
unbroken area of splendidly cultivated market gardens. 

33 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

In these fields the peasants toil the livelong day from 
early dawn to nightfall, and at the end of the day one 
sees long lines of peasants wending their way homeward, 
across the fields. It would seem as though the lot of the 
Belgian laborer must be intolerably hard. 

Throughout the two provinces of Flanders, which pro- 
duces more than half of the total crops of the kingdom, 
there are no great landed proprietors with extensive hold- 
ings. The soil has been parcelled out generally among 
the peasant class, and where the commune owns the land, 
as in Hainaut and Brabant, the holdings are sublet to 
competent farmers who have the means and the ability to 
work such large tracts, instead of dividing them. In 
Flanders, however, the small proprietor is the rule. The 
reason for this difference is said to be due to the fact that 
up to the French occupation in 1795, Belgium was con- 
trolled by the civic and feudal representatives of the aris- 
tocracy and the church. Of these the latter was the chief 
proprietor of the soil, owning more than double the 
amount of cultivated land controlled by the nobles. 
These last had not the capital nor the labor to make their 
holdings productive, and their possessions consisted of 
great forests and unworked and unproductive plains. 

Upon the annexation of Belgium by France, all lands 
claimed and controlled by the church and the nobility 
were at once forfeited, and turned over to actual farmers. 
Thus the Flemish peasants became actual owners of the 

34 



THE CAMPINE AND BEYOND 

land they worked. At that time only a small proportion 
of the farm lands was under cultivation, the population 
being sparse, and much ready capital was required for 
clearing and tilling the ground. For this reason the vast 
territory of Brabant and Namur remained uncultivated, 
while in Flanders, which was more thickly populated, the 
whole countryside soon became a garden spot. 

Later on, when the fierce ardor of Republicanism in 
Brabant and Namur cooled somewhat, many of the pro- 
prietors returned to their homes, and gradually recovered 
and occupied their former possessions without hindrance 
because the land was not then considered of great value. 
Some of these nobles afterwards repurchased the estates 
from the communes of Brabant for nominal sums. The 
overthrow of Napoleon was marked by a general recovery 
of the estates of the aristocracy, subject however to cer- 
tain rights of occupation on the part of the farmers. In 
Flanders however the new rights of the grantees dis- 
placed forever the ancient title deeds. One finds on in- 
quiry that there are now practically no great landed es- 
tates such as are to be found over the border. The only 
really large holdings are now in the Ardennes and there- 
abouts where the land is considered of comparatively 
small value, and almost entirely unproductive. 

Judging by a superficial view, the lot of the Belgian 
laborer seems a very sordid and unhappy one, but official 
authorities deny this. They emphasize the fact that the 

35 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

laborer is working for himself and his own profit, and 
thus performs more or less cheerfully and willingly tasks 
which he would otherwise refuse to undertake. The 
women and children toil early and late in the fields as 
travelers have noted from the windows of railway trains 
passing through the country, but they are far from dis- 
contented with their lot. 

Market gardening in Belgium is really a science, but 
of course such labor is not calculated to produce a high 
degree of intelligence among the people, so that they are, 
as has been said of them by writers, "sunk in a state of 
extraordinary ignorance." On the other hand the heads 
of the church point to their record as "sound Catholics." 

Seen close at hand toiling in the fields they are cer- 
tainly not picturesque as are the peasants of Holland or 
France. They wear little or nothing distinctive as a cos- 
tume. The men wear a clumsy sort of cap with a peak, a 
short smock of "glazy" dark blue linen, rough-woven 
corduroy trousers, bound about the calf of the leg with 
a string, and on their feet large wooden sabots painted 
yellow. The women wear a nondescript jacket and dress 
of some dark woolen stuff, and on their heads a stiff linen 
bonnet. 

These people are not meat eaters, their breakfast be- 
fore going into the fields consists of simply a poor grade 
of coffee and thick slices of coarse rye bread. In the 
middle of the day they eat bread dipped in grease or 

36 



THE CAMPINE AND BEYOND 

"tartine," and wash it down with thin sour beer called 
"Faro." Their supper, long after sundown, is of a thick 
vegetable soup with thin strips of bacon, and rye bread. 
As a rule each family keeps a pig, or a large number of 
rabbits and chickens. 

In Flanders the laborers' houses are huddled together 
so that the high road is lined with them, one town merg- 
ing into another; but in Walloon they live in scattered 
communities. 

It is hard to ascertain the amount earned by the laborer 
per annum. One is informed, however, that the average 
is about five hundred francs, and that upon this sum a 
Flemish laborer can manage to live, providing he has no 
rent to pay. This is hard to believe, but it comes from 
a high source of information. 

Passing from the Campine district to the region of 
Liege, one happens upon the types of ancient "chateaux" 
and chalets. These old places are most pleasingly pic- 
turesque, with their walled gardens and small forests. 
Built generally of a sort of brownish yellow stone which 
mellows beautifully with age, they harmonize delight- 
fully with the landscape, and recall those minute photo- 
graphic descriptions by Balzac in his novels. The fam- 
ilies occupying these ancient chateaux are said to be most 
exclusive, and to maintain much of the ancient customs 
of regime. 

The ambition of the Belgian merchant is to have a 

37 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

"chalet au campagne," so, as soon as he has gained a com- 
petence, he proceeds to Walloon country and there erects 
a brick or stone villa surrounded invariably with a high 
brick wall. The favorite style seems to be red brick 
with yellow or white trimmings, and ornamented with 
iron balconies and a steep blue-slate roof. A piazza, as 
we know it, is never to be seen, and the front door, gener- 
ally quite narrow, and reached by a steep flight of brick 
steps, is a marked feature of these modern villas of which 
the owners seem very proud. They are occupied for only 
a few months in the year, and thus locked, bolted and 
barred, they seem all the more incongruous with their 
surroundings. 

In this region the small houses of the peasantry are 
better built and seemingly cleaner than those in Flanders, 
being of stone and often covered with vines. On the 
ground floor is the general living-room and kitchen in 
one, with a sort of ell at the side or back where the serv- 
ants sleep. Overhead there are several bedrooms and 
these with a large loft under the roof complete the accom- 
modation. Each house has an immense barn as solidly 
built as the house, and there is almost invariably a huge 
pile of manure uncovered in the yard, most disagreeable 
and distressing to the stranger, but which the inhabitants 
not only do not mind, but point to with great pride, since 
to them it is of the greatest value and importance on the 
farm. While the Walloon lives on meager fare, he 

38 



THE CAMPINE AND BEYOND 

waxes healthy upon it, and by reason of the climate and 
surroundings, is of a larger and lustier frame than the 
Fleming, and consequently more representative of the 
Belgian race. 



39 



Hnttorp 




jERHAPS no other country in Europe is so devoid 
of what is called "scenery" as Belgium from the 
coast to Brussels. Entering the wide mouth of the 
Scheldt from the Channel, the traveler sees on the right 
hand a long, low line of grayish-yellow sand dunes 
fringed with coarse grass, occasional sparse clumps of 
dwarf spruce, and here and there a tall tower of some 
church showing against the generally luminous sky. On 
the left are the clustering roofs and towers of Flushing 
in Holland. 

The fifty miles of river up to Antwerp is bordered by 
high embankments on both sides to protect the flat coun- 
try, and is lined with guns and forts, so jealous of its 
rights over the river and Dutch Zeeland is Holland. 
It is ever a sore spot in the economy of Belgium that she 
was compelled to give up her rights and recognize the 
sovereignty of Holland over the mouths of the river 
Scheldt and its southern bank, which had formerly been 
part of the Belgian Province of Flanders; hence the 
name of Dutch or Zeeland-Flanders, by which it is still 
called to-day. Belgium now claims the return to her 

40 



iei\ 






li/tu. 



f 

I a ■ - ■ I'l ■■ • 



1 Fa.*' 






m 



■- 
• I 



- ■ ■ 



!/• 



/j 



ANTWERP 

of the small but important territory wrenched from her 
in 1839, as a consequence of Treaties of Neutrality in- 
tended to protect Belgium, but the futility of which was 
demonstrated in 1914, when Germany called them "mere 
scraps of paper." Belgium urges that "the Treaties of 
1839 were imposed by the Great Powers of Europe on 
Belgium, after her revolution against Holland." The 
War of 1914, which started by the appalling violation of 
that neutrality guaranteed by the powers, by one of its 
principal guarantors, has destroyed the whole system of 
1839, an d makes its reconstruction imperative. 

The claims of Belgium in reference to these questions 
were presented to the conference, and the French For- 
eign Minister, M. Stephen Pichon, read to them the re- 
port of the commission which examined the subject, and 
whose conclusions were wholly favorable to the Belgian 
claims. The report exhaustively sets forth details of 
these claims, and concludes by saying: "Endless trouble 
(to reach Antwerp) arises from the way in which the of- 
ficials of the Dutch Government, inevitably in favor of 
Rotterdam as against the Belgian ports of Antwerp and 
Ghent, carry out the agreements concluded for the main- 
tenance, at Belgian expense, of the channel in the muddy 
river and of the small harbor of Terneuzen, which is the 
outlet of the ship canal from Ghent to the sea, through 
the Dutch Territory." 

The contention of Belgium is that both for the safe- 

41 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

guard of its military security on the north, and for its 
economical development, it must have absolute control 
of the southern half of the River Scheldt, which implies 
possession of its left bank. The experience of 1914 has 
made it clear that unless Antwerp can maintain even in 
time of war its free access to the sea, unhampered by the 
quibbles of a neutral neighbor, the position of Antwerp 
is rendered indefensible for any length of time. It can 
almost entirely be surrounded on land, while it is cut off 
from any military assistance whatever by its normal way 
of access from the sea. The peril is made all the more 
acute by the fact that Antwerp is the only seaport avail- 
able in Belgium for big ships such as army and ammuni- 
tion transports. The harbors on the flat coast of Flan- 
ders are small, and cannot, by the nature of the land and 
the sea, furnish anything like sufficient bases to take the 
place of Antwerp. From the economical point of view it 
is absolutely necessary that Belgium obtains the right to 
manage without let or hindrance, as a sovereign and in- 
dependent power, the whole water system, not only of the 
channel of Scheldt River from Antwerp to the sea, but 
also of the low lying lands of Northern Flanders and 
of the ship canal from the port of Ghent to the Scheldt 
at Terneuzen. Quite recently a prominent Dutch jurist, 
Prof. Van Eygina, has acknowledged that the only coun- 
try concerned in the navigability of the river Scheldt, is 
Belgium. "The keys to Antwerp are at present in for- 

42 



ANTWERP 

eign hands ; Belgium claims them back on the strength of 
principles of international law, to-day universally pro- 
claimed, but never before respected in the case under 
consideration." (Statement in support of the claim to 
the left bank of the river Scheldt . . . brought by Bel- 
gium before the Peace Conference in Paris.) Accord- 
ing to latest reports a "modus vivendi" or agreement 
between Holland and Belgium as to the operation of the 
Scheldt and the Ghent canal at Terneuzen has been 
amicably arranged by the representatives of the two 
Governments. (1920.) 

Regarding the question of the return of Limburg to 
Belgium, M. Stephen Pichon * urged that the difficulty 
arose, at least partly, out of the iniquitous instrument of 
1648. The Treaty of Munster gave to the Netherlands 
the city of Maestricht, whereas the balance of Limburg 
remained attached to the Belgian provinces. 

In 1713 the Netherlands obtained a few more sections 
of Limburg; but both new acquisitions, and the City of 
Maestricht, were reincorporated in the Belgian provinces, 
where they belonged under Napoleon I. 

In 1815, however, the whole territory, according to 
the new Treaty of Vienna, was delivered over, along with 
the Belgian provinces, to the newly established King- 
dom of the Netherlands, but was always considered a 
part of the Belgian provinces. When Belgium revolted 

1 At the Peace Conference in Paris. 

43 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

against the obstinate misrule of King William I of Hol- 
land, the whole of Limburg, and for that matter the 
whole of Luxemburg, sided with the Belgian provinces. 
Their deputies in the Netherlands Parliament had al- 
ways sat on the Belgian or Southern benches of that As- 
sembly, and naturally felt the same grievances against 
the autocrat who favored his Northern Dutch subjects 
more than his Belgian Southern people. 

However, the influence of his particular friend, the 
King of Prussia, was brought to bear on the London con- 
ference after the 1830 revolution, and at the Peace Con- 
ference in Paris one-half of both Limburg and Luxem- 
burg, over and against the furious protests of the popula- 
tions of these countries, was given to the King of Hol- 
land in order to compensate him for the loss of his Duchy 
of Nassau, which Prussia had taken from him. 

"The possession of the Southern part of Dutch Lim- 
burg in the hands of Holland practically lays the north- 
eastern frontier of Belgium open to all attacks, because 
the Dutch Government recognizes the impossibility of 
defending Limburg against an invader coming from the 
East, that part of the province is so narrow (in one place 
it forms a small neck of land hardly five miles wide, be- 
tween Germany and Belgium) that an army defending 
Maestricht would be in perpetual danger of being in- 
stantly cut off from the rest of Holland. It is this fact 
which prevented Holland from providing for the security 

44 



ANTWERP 

of that part of her territory in 1914, and practically com- 
pelled her in November, 1918, to let a whole German 
army escape through Limburg into Germany with bag- 
gage, cattle, and plunder carried from Belgium. 

From the economical point of view it is absolutely 
necessary for the port of Antwerp to gain an easy and 
direct access to the enormous coal fields of Westphalia in 
Western Germany, and that can only be achieved by 
digging a large ship«canal on level ground from Antwerp 
to Duisburg, clear across the territory which is now Dutch 
Limburg. Belgium's contention on this point is based 
not only on the direct importance of Antwerp for Bel- 
gium itself, but on the international importance which 
attaches to the full development of a great international 
port such as Antwerp; whereas Holland's attitude has 
always, and naturally of course, been inspired by the idea 
of fostering the port of Rotterdam exclusively. Bel- 
gium's claim is dictated by the anxiety for Antwerp's 
future, in which it sees not Rotterdam's rival (Ant- 
werp's prosperity need not detract from Rotterdam's own 
advantages) , but an economic factor quite as important 
for the welfare of the whole of Western Europe as it is 
for Belgium itself. 

"Thus," says M. Pichon, "Belgium does not want to 
grab territory from Holland. It only craves a recon- 
sideration of the iniquitous arrangement of 1648-1839, 
in the light of modern principles, and offers ample com- 

45 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

pensation. It is pointed out in this regard, that for the 
same reason that Belgium considers itself entitled to the 
left bank of the Scheldt and to the southern part of 
Limburg, it maintains that Holland is fully entitled to 
claim from Germany a couple of provinces which are 
really Dutch territory, and largely inhabited by Dutch 
speaking people, namely Ostfriesland and Cleef. She 
would find there not only ample compensation from the 
economic point of view, but an accretion of security for 
her own territory from the strategic point of view. The 
southern part of the territories especially would provide 
Holland with a rich industrial region and abundant coal 
fields, and its possession would protect large Dutch cities, 
as Nymegen for instance, which is only about one mile 
from the frontier and completely undefended from any 
attack from the East. The desire is expressed in Bel- 
gium, in case these necessary arrangements are granted, 
to show due respect to the people occupying the areas 
which must needs change hands, that none of the inhabi- 
tants of the territory claimed by Belgium, as a matter 
both of justice and necessity, must be made to change 
their allegiance to Holland, and some combination may 
easily be devised to allow them to retain, not only their 
nationality, but even some form of local self government 
suitable to their novel condition, until they themselves 
acknowledge the benefit which the new situation con- 

4 6 



ANTWERP 

f ers upon them, and express the desire to become Belgian 
citizens. 

"Although any idea of giving up territory to Belgium 
is looked upon by Holland with more or less horror and 
indignation, some of the newspapers in the Netherlands 
discuss the matter quite calmly. One of these published 
in Hulst in Dutch Flanders, called the Volkswil (The 
People's Will) actually stated as far back as 1911, that 
the 'honest way out of the difficulty would be to give 
that territory back to Belgium, so as to make it a living 
province instead of a neglected far away corner of Hol- 
land,' but at that time, for obvious reasons, the Belgian 
Government could not raise the question, nor would the 
Dutch Government do it. And early in 1914, the same 
newspaper claimed that 'the Treaty of Munster had 
been an ethical crime against both Belgian Flanders and 
Southern Zeeland, and that the whole future of Holland 
is conditioned by the restoration of Southern Zeeland 
to its Belgian cradle, because the present regime in that 
part of the country is one of oppression both in the eco- 
nomical and political sense.' 

"No wonder," he concludes, "therefore, that official 
pressure succeeds in calling forth a number of addresses 
of loyalty to the Queen of the Netherlands. In Lim- 
burg, only 38% of the population could be got to sign 
such documents, the papers must acknowledge that there 

47 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

is no real popular love for Holland, and the Governor 
of the province has recently brought about the removal 
of officers of the Dutch Army, because they had declined 
to join the movement." 

It was of Antwerp that Napoleon said, after the city 
had come into possession of the French in the wars of 
the Revolution, "c'est un pistolet charge que je tiens a la 
gorge de l'angleterre;" and he believed it to be such, for 
it was then not only one of the most strongly fortified 
cities of the world, but one of the greatest commercially. 
Apart from this, he regarded it as one of the priceless 
jewels of his crown. He was enraptured over its an- 
cient guild halls and Flemish houses; its lace-like Cathe- 
dral tower, its magnificent art collections, and its superb 
river alive with commerce and traffic. At once he set 
about enlarging its already great docks and planned the 
vast basins carried out by Napoleon III which still bear 
his name. Situated fifty miles up the estuary from the 
sea, the city queens it over the River Scheldt which is here 
of great breadth, forming a semi-circular area with ex- 
tensive, if now obsolete, fortifications on both banks. 

Tradition ascribes the name of Antwerp (Flemish 
"Antwerpen") to Handwerpen (Throw the Hand) from 
the legend of one Antigonus who was said to be in the 
habit of cutting off the hands of the unfortunate captains 
of vessels who refused to pay ransom or toll, and throw- 
ing the bleeding hand over the castle wall "pour en- 

4 8 



ANTWERP 

courager les autres." Some authorities, however, say 
that the name means "lay to" or "alongside," and this 
is more probable. Thus the word means the unloading 
place, quay or wharf, where vessels might lay to and 
unload, for already in the thirteenth century Antwerp 
had an immense trade with the ports of the Orient, and 
this increased remarkably up to the middle of the six- 
teenth century when the quarrel with Philip II resulted 
in war. 

Antwerp in the middle of the sixteenth century was, 
next to Paris, the largest city in Europe. In its superb 
Exchange five thousand merchants daily congregated. 
Twenty-five hundred merchant vessels often lay at once 
at its wharves. Guicciardini says that the city contained 
ten thousand carts constantly employed in carrying mer- 
chandise to and from the neighboring country, besides 
hundreds of wagons for passengers, and five hundred 
coaches used by people of distinction. "In 1564 the 
first coach was introduced into England from the Nether- 
lands, being imported for the use of Queen Elizabeth." 
(Drake's "Shakespeare and his Times," page 415.) "It 
caused great astonishment among the islanders." 

Many of the merchants were possessed of great wealth. 
The Fuggers of Augsburg, Germany, with a house at 
Antwerp, furnish the most notable example of the vast 
fortunes accumulated by manufacturers and commerce 
during the Middle Ages. Antony, one of the two 

49 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

brothers, who died at this time, left six million gold 
crowns, besides jewelry and other valuable property, and 
landed possessions in all parts of Europe and in both the 
Indies. It was of him that the Emperor Charles V, when 
viewing the royal treasures at Paris, exclaimed, "There 
is at Augsburg a linen weaver who could pay as much as 
this with his own gold." Of him also the story is told 
that, receiving on one occasion a visit from the Emperor, 
he heated the halls of his princely dwelling with cinna- 
mon wood, and kindled the fire with bonds for an im- 
mense sum representing money borrowed from him by his 
royal guest. 

In wealth the Fuggers were the Rothschilds of their 
time, while in political influence they far surpassed this 
modern family. Both brothers were ennobled by Charles 
V, and in 1619 forty-seven counts and countesses were 
numbered among their descendants. Later some of 
them became princes of the empire, and in the beginning 
of this century their landed estates covered about four 
hundred and forty square miles. Like the other con- 
tinental merchants of their time, Antony and his 
brother Raimond were liberal patrons of literature and 
the Arts. Their houses were filled with rare paintings 
and costly books; they supported artists and musicians, 
founded hospitals, schools, and charitable institutions 
almost without number. "At this time (says Motley) 
the Sovereign was simply Marquis of Antwerp, and was 

50 



ANTWERP 

sworn to govern according to the ancient Charters and 
laws." 

The city then had "upwards of two hundred thousand . 
inhabitants, nearly all rich"; thus Philip's hangman 
(The Duke of Alva) found it, and in a word brought 
ruin and devastation to it at the hands of ruthless sol- 
diers. After repeated onslaughts covering twenty-three 
years, in 1590 the inhabitants had been reduced to a piti- 
ful fifty-three thousand all told, and when by the clause 
in the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the Scheldt River 
was closed to commerce, it was further reduced to thirty- 
five thousand. It languished until after the French 
Revolution, when Napoleon revived its shattered for- 
tunes; thereafter it grew by leaps and bounds. Fortune 
flowed towards it upon the bosom of the Scheldt, and 
there is not in all Europe a city of greater interest for 
historical story, for art and for splendor than Antwerp. 

The artists love it for its shrines of Rubens, Metsys, 
Van Dyck, Teniers, and Jordaens. Strange it is that 
Antwerp, the Great Commercial City, should have re- 
tained its dominant position as the custodian of the 
world's rarest and most perfect treasures of art. Metsys 
the blacksmith's apprentice, according to a popular [and 
unconfirmed] story, rose to eminence here in a little dark 
street of the ancient Spanish Quarter. Dying in 1530, 
he was spared the painful experience and sights of the 
Spanish domination. To him there was no other Em- 

51 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

peror Charles than that resplendent youth who made 
his triumphal entry into Antwerp on that bright sunny 
day in 1520. Metsys belongs to that period preceding 
the struggles of The Netherlands. It was after his death 
that the religious persecution began in Belgium. His 
family, living in Louvain, suffered terribly at the hands 
of the reformers. His niece Catherine, who had married 
a woodcarver named Jan Beyaerts, was accused of heresy, 
and both she and her husband were put to the rack, on 
which, forced by their agonies, they both confessed that 
they believed neither in the Pope nor transubstantiation. 
They were beheaded publicly in the great market place, 
though some say that Catherine was buried alive. The 
accounts state that Catherine's fellow victim, the wife 
of a burgher, had a lovely young daughter, who witnessed 
her mother's treatment in the market place, and when 
she saw the black robed priests filling up the pit, her 
strength failed her and she fled hither and yon through 
the streets of the town calling upon Heaven to witness 
the horrible deed. The Latin account is by an eye wit- 
ness : "The terrible cries of agony from those being tor- 
tured in the cells were heard throughout the town, so that 
even Inhumanity and Cruelty themselves should have 
been moved to mercy and compassion." 

Antwerp of 1520 was described well in the Diary of 
the Great Painter Albert Diirer, who was certainly a 
good Lutheran though not an intolerant one. His ar- 

52 



ANTWERP 

tistic eye delighted in the rich draperies and decora- 
tions of the city prepared for the entry of Emperor 
Charles. He entered minutely in his diary every detail 
of the splendor and cost, each item set down in orderly 
fashion. Thus one reads that the great triumphal arch 
in the Grand Place, cost "four thousand guilders" for 
"paintings and joinery." 

Observing the procession with the eye of an artist seek- 
ing for color and line, he records his impressions as fol- 
lows: "The whole population of the City of Antwerp 
seemed to be assembled in the streets in and about the 
Grand Place and before the Church of Our Lady which 
was hung with flags, banners of the Shields, and green 
garlands. The craftsmen and the members of the cor- 
porations were costumed in most costly fashion, each ac- 
cording to his station and position, wearing his distinc- 
tive badge whereby one might recognize his guild. 
Among the most noteworthy objects which they carried 
about were the large costly wax candles, and their old- 
fashioned elongated silver trumpets. There were also 
a great many pipers and drummers clad in German style, 
who with their musical instruments produced a power- 
ful sound and most terrific noise.' That is how I saw 
them march through the streets, very distinct and widely 
separated, each guild from the other, that there might be 
no mistaking them, so that there was ever a long dis- 
tance between them. They proceeded in this order: 

53 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

The goldsmiths, painters, stone cutters, silk broiders, 
sculptors, joiners, carpenters, mariners, fishermen, butch- 
ers, lathe workers, cloth weavers, bakers, tailors, shoe 
makers, and all kinds of artisans, also many craftsmen 
and dealers necessary to the maintenance of life. There 
were also shop keepers, merchants, and all kinds of ser- 
vants belonging to them. After these came the sharp 
shooters armed with arquebusses and bows, and appren- 
tices, together with horsemen and pedestrians. Then 
came the sharpshooters of the magistrates. To them suc- 
ceeded a long line of martial looking men magnificently 
and expensively attired, but before them went all the 
Holy Orders and some of the religious institutions, all 
in their distinctive garb and very attentive. The pro- 
cession contained a long string of widows who live by 
the work of their hands and lead a very distinct and rigor- 
ous life. They all wore long linen veils expressly made 
for them and covering them from head to foot, very agree- 
able to the view. The prebendaries of the Cathedral of 
Our Lady, with the whole of the clergy, scholars and orna- 
ments came after that. Then followed twenty persons 
carrying the statue of the Virgin Mary and the Lord 
Jesus magnificently attired to the glory of God, our 
Lord. The procession contained many most amusing ob- 
jects, prepared at great cost, for there were a great many 
chariots, spectacles on ships of war, and other most en- 
tertaining and often comic sights, among them was the 

54 



ANTWERP 

row of prophets and scenes from the New Testament, the 
Salutation of the Angels, and three Magi riding on drome- 
daries with a following of blacks and gorgeously clad 
Egyptians, and various rare and wonderful animals 
tastefully equipped, also the flight of Our Lady into 
Egypt very reverently represented. Then came a huge 
dragon led by a rope in the hands of Saint Margaret and 
her maidens. The former was in front and followed by 
St. George and his servants, a very brave warrior in 
breastplate and glittering helmet. 

"In addition to all this the procession contained many 
young men and sweet looking maidens on horseback and 
on chariots very tastefully dressed and representing the 
various saints." 

The observing painter, evidently tired of his tabula- 
tion of the details long before the pageant passed his 
window, for he concludes: "The procession from be- 
ginning to end took more than two hours to pass before 
our house, the particulars therefore were entirely too 
many to be all noted down in a book, for which reason 
I omitted the remainder." 

Diirer came to Antwerp in 1520, drawn thither by ac- 
counts of its great riches and the success already achieved 
by Quentin Metsys, who was already a person of Euro- 
pean celebrity. Whether or not one accepts the story of 
the smithy or relegates it to the realms of the fable, Van 
Mander, that faithful chronicler, records how Metsys 

55 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

being of the age of twenty, and knowing no other craft 
but that of the blacksmith, had been stricken by illness 
that left him too weak to wield the hammer, and being 
in sore need of money to support his aged and dependent 
mother, was advised by a visitor to utilize his artistic abil- 
ity by cutting small images in wood, and coloring them 
for the sick in the Lazarus Hospital of Antwerp. This 
he did, says Van Mander, "with success," and it was 
thus that Metsys revealed himself as a born painter. 
There is, however, another story which relates that Met- 
sys was courting a young woman of standing and posi- 
tion, who was interested in him, but who was already 
betrothed by her father's wishes to a rich young mer- 
chant. She, however, lent an ear to Quentin's wooing, 
but liked not his calling as a blacksmith, saying that he 
to win her must exchange the anvil for a palette and pro- 
duce a painting which would command a purchaser. 
This Metsys did and won her, but of the particular paint- 
ing history is silent. But one does not think of him as a 
common blacksmith, nor does Van Mander so class him. 
The many legends current concerning him all concur in 
his extreme artistry, and even if there are no authorita- 
tive documents to connect him with that exquisite well 
top which stands beside the main portal of the Cathedral, 
there are not wanting, most certainly, delightful proofs 
of his talents as an artist in other lines than that dis- 
closed by his paintings. "From a short poem in Latin by 

56 



ANTWERP 

Sir Thomas More it would appear that Metsys carved 
in wood the profiles of Erasmus and that of the town clerk 
of Antwerp, Aegidius, in a Medallion on Wood." 
("The Land of Rubens," C. P. Huet.) 

His fame as a painter is certainly established by the 
painting (in the Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts) "The 
Passion of Our Lord." In this museum there are also 
shown a number of heads, mostly studies, of various 
burghers of the town who sat to him. In the Cathedral 
is a painting, "The Descent from the Cross," which shows 
in its side panels some portraits evidently painted at 
this period and much resembling the heads mentioned 
above. Huet says concerning his painting of the 
"Steward," an old man counting over his gold, "the head- 
gear of his personages, their old Flemish dresses, the 
gravity and concern in the features of some, the cunning 
in those of others, show an uncommon knowledge of the 
human heart, and a readiness not less common, in ob- 
serving the picturesque everyday life. 

"Commercial and pettifogging Antwerp of the first 
years of the Sixteenth century revives in these figures. 
We are supposed to believe that they are meant as satires, 
nevertheless they look suspiciously like so many portraits 
of contemporaries and fellow citizens." 

When Rubens was painting his great pictures, Ant- 
werp was "a dead-alive, fast declining city." At the 
triumphal entry of Archduke Ferdinand in 1635, there 

57 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

was hardly enough money in the city treasury to pay for 
the erection of the triumphal arches, not to speak of pay- 
ment to the artists who designed them. 

"It had to submit to humiliating lawsuits, to impose 
new town dues upon beer." 

When the English envoy Carleton arrived in Antwerp 
in 1616, he wrote to a friend at home giving his impres- 
sions in a few terse sentences : "Antwerp is a large city, 
[magna civitas] and at the same time a vast wilderness, 
[magna solitudo] : and later he wrote, "Antwerpae, 
Splendida paupertas." 

What a contrast with Antwerp of to-day. 

The Bourse, or Exchange, which the Flemish call the 
"Handelsbeurs," is situated at the end of a short street, 
quaintly named Twaalf Maanden Straat, or Street of the 
Twelve Months. It is, by the way, not generally known 
that the name "Bourse" given commonly to all the Ex- 
changes of Europe, derived its name from the office of a 
private banker of Antwerp in the Seventeenth Century, 
who enjoyed great notoriety and popularity because of 
his absolute trustworthiness and strictly honorable deal- 
ings with the merchants and shippers of the town. His 
name was Boers, and the sign over his door thus became 
the trade mark of commerce. 

The Antwerp Bourse is perhaps the handsomest of the 
commercial buildings of Europe; although it is by no 
means old, it gives all the appearance and evidence of 

58 



ANTWERP 

early Gothic architecture. It was erected on the site of 
a structure of the Fifteenth Century, the work of one 
Mestre Dom de Waghemaker, said to have been the old- 
est merchant's exchange in the world, which was de- 
stroyed by fire in the year 1581. The present beautiful 
building is from the designs of Joseph Schadde, based 
upon the earlier plans, but on a much larger scale. The 
great hall, roofed with glass, is nearly one hundred and 
thirty feet wide, and has a double arcade around it sup- 
ported by columns of exquisite and different designs. 
Remarkable wrought iron beams and buttresses, in Moor- 
ish Gothic form, bearing escutcheons glowing with scarlet, 
azure, and gilded armorial bearings of the various prov- 
inces of Belgium, together with the Lion of Flanders, 
support the ceiling, while the spaces between the tall 
windows are further embellished with the arms of the 
chief nations of the world. Quaintly enough, the great 
hall is used as a common thoroughfare throughout the 
day, save for the brief hours of business. 

There are of course other Bourses, at Brussels and 
some of the large towns through the kingdom, but the 
business transacted is much less and of course subordi- 
nate. A prominent merchant is my authority for the 
statement that Belgium's exports before the outbreak 
of the great war much exceeded one hundred and thirty 
millions sterling, while her imports were more than one 
hundred and fifty millions in 1914, and furthermore that 

59 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

nine-tenths of these entered the port of Antwerp. The 
broad boulevards that now occupy the line of the ancient 
fortifications are lined with the really palatial residences 
of the Antwerp merchants. Many of these houses, built 
of a fine light stone, are of highly artistic modern archi- 
tecture. Others are built of brick in soft buff and brown 
tones, and the large windows have bright green shutters. 
These boulevards are in the shape of a semicircle extend- 
ing from the splendid Art Gallery on the Place du Peuple 
to the Grand Bassin in the northern part of the town. 
Midway between these points are the Public Gardens, 
filled with meritorious statues by the best sculptors, and 
intersected by broad carriage roads. There is here a 
great contrast to the old Spanish Town where stands the 
Cathedral amid narrow, tortuous, dark streets lined with 
the old gabled houses. 

It is said of Antwerp that it is the most hospitable of 
all the Flemish cities, and certainly it must be conceded 
that entertainment is made much of by the people, and 
forms an important feature of their daily life. 

In Antwerp are to be found some of the best restaurants 
in The Netherlands. Mention must be made of the 
cuisine of the hotel on the Place Verte near the Post 
Office (it is unnecessary to further identify it by name) , 
which has a great reputation among gourmets. At the 
great civic entertainments held in the impressive hall of 
the "Societe Zoologique," the banquet beginning gen- 

60 



ANTWERP 

erally at eight p. m. lasts frequently, I am informed, un- 
til midnight. They are said to embody the features of 
Guildhall, and are attended by the "echevins" (or 
sheriffs) clad in "State," whatever that means. 

Antwerp has ever been famous for its wealthy mer- 
chants. According to an ancient Latin chronicle the five 
great Flemish commercial cities were described as fol- 
lows: "Nobilibus Bruxella Viris; Antwerpia Nummis; 
Gandavum Laqueis ; Formosis Bruga Puellis ; Lovanium 
Doctis; Gaudet Mechlinia Stultis." That is — Brussels 
for Nobles ; Antwerp for wealthy men ; Ghent for its en- 
slaved men, alluding to its submission in the year 1540; 
Bruges for its handsome women; Louvain for its scholars; 
and Malines (Mechlin) for its fools. The citizens of 
Malines gained their unfortunate reputation from the 
fact that one night a fuddled merchant gave the alarm 
that the Cathedral tower of Saint Rombold was on fire, 
and it was only after the fire guard had turned out to 
extinguish the fire, that a belated citizen looking up at 
the old Cathedral discovered that what they thought was 
flames was simply the full moon shining through the open 
stone work of the tower. This same Saint Rombold of 
Malines is the church of the valiant and much beloved 
Cardinal Mercier, whose fame is now deservedly world 
wide. 

The place to study the society of Antwerp is at the 
Theater Royal, whose performances in the season are 

61 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

given on Sunday afternoons. Here will gather mem- 
bers of the most prominent and wealthy families, and the 
large theater is generally filled to capacity. Some good 
opera is given, and in the parquet will be found the lead- 
ing men of the town. The bourgeois or middle class are 
to be found at the Flemish Theater in the Place de la 
Commune (Germerne Plaats). This is called the 
"Schouwburg" and is a handsome building in the Renais- 
sance style by the Architect Dens. It bears the inscrip- 
tion in Flemish : "Vrede baart Kunst, Kunst Vere delt 
het Volk." (Peace begets art, art ennobles the people.) 

A new Flemish Opera House (Nederlandsch Lyrisch 
Toneel) has been built near the beginning of the Avenue 
des Arts, and beyond is the Park which occupies the site 
of an old lunette, the moats of which are converted into 
a very ornamental sheet of water spanned by a chain 
bridge. 

Just across the tree embowered "Place Verte," beyond 
Geefs' fine bronze statue of Rubens, is a small hotel no 
less comfortable and much less expensive than the first 
named. Over it towers the slender lace like spire of the 
great cathedral with its open work gilded clock faces. 
Here in a small attic chamber the present chronicler spent 
some of his student days. Ah ! those roseate days, those 
dream days, those days of youthful ambitions, could there 
have been a more romantic setting for them than that 
brick tiled attic chamber, hot in summer, and cold in win- 

62 



ANTWERP 

ter (what cared youth for such trifles as weather) with 
the jangling bells of the carillon sounding overhead, and 
the pigeons cooing about the eaves and chimney pots ? 

The chimes of Antwerp have been celebrated in song 
and legend, and no one who has once heard the great 
and famous Carilloneur' Denyn of Malines perform 
upon the remarkable bells will ever forget them. On 
days when the master performs, the Place Verte, and 
Grande Place are thronged with people in wrapt admira- 
tion. The present writer recalls his sensations when 
hearing for the first time Benoit's "My Moederspraak" 
sounding silvery notes far above the roof tops of this 
charming old city. It may be explained that the bells in 
the tower are played by hands and feet! The manual 
and pedal motion enables the artist musician to play with 
an intensity of expression which no mechanical process 
or machine (tambour) can equal. 

In all Belgium now (1920) there are only two sets 
of chimes remaining: those at Antwerp and at Bruges. 
In the Antwerp tower are forty bells of matchless tone 
including the great eight ton bell given by Charles V. 

All tourists know the cathedral, its glories of painted 
glass, and its treasures of great works of art, volumes 
have been written describing these, so there is little if 
anything remaining to chronicle here. But not every one 
knows of great St. Jacques (Saint Jacob's Kerk, South 
Portal) hidden away in a small side street (the Rue du 

63 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Chene). Begun in 1491 by the architect Herman de 
Waghemaker, father of the Dom. who designed the an- 
cient exchange of Antwerp, the first in Europe, this 
remarkable edifice was completed in 1656. It is cruci- 
form in shape, and with its sumptuous chapels on each 
side and in the choir, it is the most important church in 
the country, far surpassing the cathedral in sumptuous- 
ness of monuments, treasures and decorations, containing 
remarkable marbles, and above all the tomb of the great 
Rubens in the Rubens Chapel. 

A list of the treasures of St. Jacques would fill the 
remaining space in this volume. The wealthiest and 
most distinguished families of Antwerp have here main- 
tained their sumptuously carved and embellished burial 
vaults, while all about are private chapels and high al- 
tars vieing with each other for magnificence. Perhaps 
the most interesting of these is that of the Rubens family 
in the Ambulatory, described elsewhere in this chapter. 

There are wonderful ancient stained glass windows 
of far greater value than any in the cathedral. Many of 
these are by Van Diepenbeek and J. B. Van der Veeken, 
and there are several worthy examples of modern glass 
by J. F. Pluys and J. B. Capronnier. In the Chapel of 
the Host, a great composition of 1626 (unknown master) 
depicts in jewel-like glass Rudolph of Hapsburg giving 
his charger to a priest who bears the Monstrance. 

In the choir is a baroque master altar, carved by Ykens 

64 



ANTWERP 

and his pupils. Here is a noble statue of St. James by 
the Quellins, father and son, who carved the choir stalls, 
which still bear the names of the patricians and the princes 
who occupied them. The twelfth seat to the left from 
the entrance bears the name of Petrus Paulus Rubens. 

Not far from this peaceful fragrant retreat, are miles 
and miles of great docks, wharfs and stone quarrys along 
the river side; massively built esplanades of granite, with 
terraced walks above the moorings and loading places of 
the iron argosies from the seven seas. In close proximity 
to the thronged market place, and telling quite opposite 
stories, are the towers of the cathedral and those of the 
Feudal Castle, once the palace of the Marquises of Ant- 
werp, built in the Tenth Century, and afterward the ter- 
rible prison of the Spanish Inquisition, known as the 
"Steen." This is now a museum and enshrines a large 
collection of ancient objects including an "Iron Maiden" 
and other fiendish instruments of torture used during 
the Inquisition. In the crypt are some terrible dungeons 
and several "oubliettes," those dark slimy caves far be- 
low the bed of the river, where poor wretches were im- 
mured, chained to the stone floors, and left to slow starva- 
tion. My drawing shows how the "Steen" looks since 
the small Spanish houses have been torn away and the 
walls revealed. In one of the hallways are two mon- 
ster wooden and papier mache heads which have formed 
part of every civic procession held in the town since the 

6^ 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Sixteenth Century. One is that of the Giant "Anti- 
gonus," the other his wife; the first was carved by Petrus 
Coecke, the latter is inferior. Nearby is the "Water- 
poort," a gateway built in 1624 from a design by Rubens. 
It shows a river god signed by A. Quellin, the Elder, 
and bears an inscription paying homage to Philip IV. 

Down in the old "Spanish" streets behind the Hotel 
de Ville, and in the crooked lanes around the Shoe Mar- 
ket there are old people who can tell strange tales and 
legends of ancient Antwerp. One of these tales is that 
concerning the "Long Wapper," and tells circumstan- 
tially of the nights when the pious citizens of the town 
crouched terror-stricken behind locked and barred doors, 
with the wind screaming over the meadows from the 
North Sea, and the waters of the River Scheldt lashing 
at the dykes. How they watched from the windows the 
flickering flame of the oil lamps burning beneath the 
sacred image of the Virgin at the street corners, knowing 
that while the light continued to burn the demon could 
not molest those crouching there. This is why so many 
of the old houses are inscribed in care of Saint Elygious 
(Eligius). 

Antwerp despaired of delivery from the clutches of this 
demon, the "Long Wapper," who was possessed of a 
"hellish" humor. At nightfall, particularly when the 
storm winds blew, he would beat upon the church win- 
dows, and those who glanced up fearfully would prob- 

66 



ANTWERP 

ably see a grinning, gibing face glaring upon them. The 
"Long Wapper" lay in wait for the luckless wayfarer at 
dark street corners, where he would beat such as passed 
with a heavy club. It is said that he could simulate a 
woman in distress and so moan and cry beneath the win- 
dows that the charitable would unbar his door and emerge 
only to be lured along the street into some dark corner 
where he would be tripped up and beaten by unseen 
hands. Then would sound screams of fiendish laughter, 
and the "Wapper" would seek another victim. 

It is said that he could assume any shape at will, but 
that his favorite effigy was that of an abandoned child 
lying cooing upon a doorstep. Brought into the house 
and in the arms of the good wife before the warmth of 
the fire, the foundling would grow and grow, becoming 
heavier and larger until to the horror of the poor dame, 
the child became a»huge hairy giant of a man, who would 
jump up and lay about him furiously, breaking the fur- 
niture and frightening the household out of its wits. In 
the midst of the screams and alarm, all of a sudden the 
"Wapper" would dwindle away to a wailing child, then 
a cat, and finally a scurrying mouse, which would vanish 
beneath the wainscote. 

Such were some of the pranks of this evil spirit of long 
ago. There is also the story of the Burgomaster and a 
company of grave city fathers, who one night gathered 
for a feast and a bottle apiece, and were never again seen 

6 7 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

by mortal eye. It is believed that the "Long Wap- 
per" still holds them captive, and prayers are asked for 
their souls, particularly when the storm winds blow across 
the level fields of Flanders from the North Sea, and the 
sky is dark with heavy clouds, and the yellow heaving 
waters of the Scheldt rise and dash over the great dykes. 

Antwerp is famous for, and justly proud of its splen- 
did shipping facilities. The Northern Docks cover the 
enormous area of more than two hundred and fifty acres, 
and connect with the Southern Docks by means of a net- 
work of smaller docks, used by local small craft, and a 
system of tram lines. Of these the Grand and Petit 
Bassins were constructed by Napoleon during the period 
from 1804 to 1813, and cost some thirteen million francs. 
The large dock can accommodate two hundred and fifty 
ships at once. That ancient building with a steep roof, 
the warehouse of the Hanseatic League, built by Cor- 
nelius de Vriendt, which was a landmark dating from 
1564, formerly occupying the space between these docks, 
was destroyed by fire in 1893. These great docks are 
comparatively intact, the Germans thinking that Ant- 
werp would permanently remain in their hands. 

The Port of Antwerp before the war was the distribut- 
ing point for nearly all the sea-borne trade of Belgium, 
as well as for the trade of Alsace-Lorraine, the Rhine 
Provinces and Switzerland. Mr. Blount finds that its 
tonnage shows a resumption of fully 30 per cent, for the 

68 



ANTWERP 

first seven months of 1919, as compared with the same 
period of 1914, while the tonnage for the month of 
September, 1919, was more than 40 per cent, of that for 
September, 1913. For the first ten months of 1919, 
3,900 vessels with a total tonnage of 4,100,536 entered 
the port. The most significant item of the port statistics 
is the fact that 75 per cent, of the vessels departed laden 
with return cargoes, which is evidence of the resumption 
of Belgian industry. Antwerp's tonnage for November 
last was 563,492, against 527,665 tons for Rotterdam. 

At the angle of the small Marche du Vendredi, one 
comes upon the printing house of the Master Printer, 
Christopher Plan tin (now the Museum Plantin-More- 
tus) , who set up his business in 1549. He was succeeded 
by his son-in-law Moerentorf (or Moretus) and for three 
hundred years the printing business was continuously 
carried on by the same family. In 1876 the Town Coun- 
cil of Antwerp purchased the house in which all the para- 
phernalia of a Sixteenth Century printery are now pre- 
served, with remarkable specimens of ancient printing 
and engraving; old hand presses and type, and a collec- 
tion of paintings and portraits by Rubens. Curiously 
enough, the guides and attendants are clad in picturesque 
costumes of the period, which contribute greatly to the 
interest and enjoyment of the collection. The progress 
of art and warfare in the Netherlands may be traced 
in these rooms, packed as they are with priceless treas- 

69 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

ures of manuscript, engravings and printed books. Here 
may be studied the history of the hardships inflicted 
upon the Netherlands by the Spanish succession. 

This building, hidden away in a narrow street, is a 
matchless relic of the latter part of the Sixteenth Cen- 
tury. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. 
Completely undisturbed, just as it was, apparently, when 
the typesetters and printers left the shop, are the 
"forms" in the old hand presses, the type in the "cases," 
and the quaintly shaped "sticks" and the "proof" lying 
on the large oaken tables. 

The place must be swept and dusted very carefully at 
regular intervals, but one can detect no evidence of 
careless misplacement of any of the articles. 

This is the celebrated "Officina Plantiana" whence is- 
sued in that golden period of printing so many precious 
folios and stately quartos, imprinted with exquisitely cut 
type on handmade linen paper, and embellished with 
beautifully designed wood engravings by artist work- 
men, or copperplates drawn and etched by master hands. 

Max Rooses explains in his history of the printing 
house that the workshop was still in full operation as 
late as the first part of the Nineteenth Century. It is 
due to the care of Rooses and his assistant Rosseels that 
the workshop presents now an appearance of its actual 
condition when in operation. 

A most delightful quietude and atmosphere pervades 

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ANTWERP 

the whole place, now a veritable "Necropolis" of the 
"Art Preservative of Arts." An intimate friend of 
Peter Paul Rubens, Balthaser Moretus shows in his 
printing much of the spirit of Catholicism of the Ancient 
Flemish master printers. To the artistic counsel of Ru- 
bens, Moretus owed a great deal. He was an indefatig- 
able worker of great accomplishment. The output of 
the printing house under his management was very large, 
but while he made a fortune out of the business, he cer- 
tainly earned it, and always insisted upon, and received, 
the respect due to his position as master printer. 

In this printing house an abundance of remarkable 
objects meets the eye upon every hand. There are fam- 
ily relics; a great and admirably arranged library of 
stately and priceless tomes; shelves of well preserved 
wood blocks and copperplates by master designers, ar- 
ranged in order, and the proof readers' room, with its 
oaken ceiling, and heavy ancient furniture; its wide win- 
dows set with small panes of leaded glass, and framed 
in luxuriant Virginia creeper, is a delight to the eye. 
From these windows one may look down into the pic- 
turesque frontage of the courtyard with its fountain; a 
tranquil spot inviting reverie. 

One can imagine the figure of old dry-as-dust Killian, 
who was the head proof reader, sitting at the heavy oaken 
table, bent over the proof sheets, or now and then glancing 
out of the open window down into the courtyard where 

71 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

the pigeons cooed beside the splashing fountain in the 
sunlight. 

Plantin was born in 1514 near the town of Tours in 
France, and came to Antwerp about the middle of the Six- 
teenth Century, where he established himself in a small 
way as a bookseller and binder. In a few years he had so 
prospered that he was able to start business as a printer, 
and began to produce those folios that are now the won- 
der of the world. The first book that he printed and 
issued from his Antwerp press was dated May, 1555, and 
bears the title L' Institution d'une fille de noble maison; 
traduite de la langue Tuscane en Frangais. From this 
year his output grew more and more numerous, until 
Plantin's printing presses became the most famous and 
productive in the Netherlands. It was not, however, 
until 1579 that he bought the splendid building in the 
Place du Vendredi. Every book issued by Plantin was 
most carefully and accurately made, so painstaking was 
this master printer, that the establishment was never a 
financial success, and he was often in difficulties through 
lack of ready money. The most celebrated book he 
printed was the great Polyglot Bible for Philip II, begun 
in 1568 and finished in 1573. It was in eight folio 
volumes, and it is said that forty workmen were em- 
ployed for nearly five years in its production. Plantin 
excelled as a bookbinder and craftsman in leather tool- 

72 



ANTWERP 

ing. He was commissioned by Philip IPs secretary, Ga- 
briel de Cayas, to fashion a casket to contain jewelry 
which the secretary wished to send to Philip. Plantin 
made an exquisite little leather box, a perfect work of 
art, and as soon as it was finished, not caring to trust a 
workman, he resolved to take it to the secretary person- 
ally. 

It was night, says the story, and as the streets of old 
Antwerp were illy lighted, Plantin got a servant to carry 
a lantern before him. 

On the way, close to the Place de Meir, they were sud- 
denly attacked by several men with drawn swords. The 
terrified servant dropped the lantern and fled; before 
Plantin could speak or attempt to escape he was run 
through the body and fell senseless to the ground, where 
he was left for dead. When he came to his senses he 
managed to crawl to his house where he lay for several 
days near the point of death. It was discovered after- 
wards that a party of riotous merrymakers, some of whom 
had been disturbed the previous night by a wandering mu- 
sician, had set out after dinner vowing vengeance against 
the minstrel, and in the dark, mistaking Plantin for the 
other, had fallen upon him at once. 

From this on Plantin gave up the craft of binding and 
leather working and turned his whole attention to the 
art of printing. During the siege of Antwerp by Far- 

73 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

nese, Plantin fled to Leyden and there founded a branch 
printing office, leaving the one in Antwerp in charge of 
his son-in-law Francois Raphelengius. 

After the surrender of Antwerp to Farnese in 1585, 
Plantin returned to the city; he died there, highly hon- 
ored in 1589. 

Older than the printing house by nearly fifty years is 
the Antwerp Town Hall. Strangely enough it has 
nothing whatever of the Gothic style used almost ex- 
clusively throughout Brabant. It was planned by Cor- 
nells Floris de Vriendt in 1561 and finished in 1656. It 
has an open gallery in the third story reminiscent of an 
Italian loggia, and the figure of the Madonna in the re- 
cess between the two obelisks is in the best style of the 
Italian Renaissance. There is positively nothing Flem- 
ish whatever in the exterior, but its interior is certainly 
in the very best of the old Flemish style. 

The great hall has large decorative paintings by Leys, 
which are very satisfactory in both workmanship and 
character. The great staircase (Trapzaal) is lavishly 
decorated in variously colored Belgian marble, and 
above, the glass roof is supported by caryatides carved 
in wood in most excellent style. Mural paintings by 
modern Belgian painters decorate the first floor and are 
of remarkable character, representing "Shipping of the 
Sixteenth Century" by P. Verhaert, "Opening of the 
Exchange" by Ch. Boom, and "The Fine Arts," "The 

74 



ANTWERP 

Rederykamers of Ghent" 1539 by E. Farasyn. There 
are four very large paintings by Baron Leys, which are 
pronounced by authorities to be "the most remarkable 
productions of modern Belgian Art" — whether or not, 
they are certainly impressive and are comparable to 
Scheffel's "Ekkehard," or perhaps to Thierry's "Mero- 
vingian Chronicles." The style is that of Quentin 
Metsys applied to the period immediately succeeding 
his own, and the subjects are: The admission of Geno- 
ese Polaviccini to the freedom of the city; Burgomaster 
Van Wiselen confiding the defense of Antwerp to the 
Sheriff Van Spangen; Emperor Charles taking oath to 
respect the liberty of Antwerp; The Town Council re- 
ceiving keys of the city from Margaret of Parma. 

The painting is very serious, and in order to impress 
the spectator with the atmosphere of the period dealt 
with, the painter has cunningly combined as it were an 
ensemble of archaisme which successfully carry one back 
more than three centuries and depict the scenes most con- 
vincingly, so that one accepts unquestioningly the 
painter's point of view. 

In this Town Hall are preserved the bones of the 
"overgrown" Antigonus who was slain by Salvius Brabo, 
King of Tongres, at least so says the legend, which one 
may accept or not, quite as one feels about such tales. 
At any rate there are the bones — great yellow pieces all 
laid out in impressive array for the curious. Diirer, in 

75 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

his diary, writes that he saw them when he was in Ant- 
werp. "The bones of the great giant Antigonus at Ant- 
werp. His leg above the knees is five and a half feet 
long, and beyond measure heavy and very thick. So 
were his shoulder blades — a single one is broader than a 
strong man's back — and his other limbs." This man was 
eighteen feet high, ruled Antwerp and did many won- 
derful deeds, as is set out in an old book which belongs 
to the Magistrate of the town. What matters it that 
modern surgeons have pronounced these great yellow 
bones to be whales ribs'? — No loyal "Antwerpenaar" but 
will continue to believe them to be the bones of Anti- 
gonus. 

But above all it is the painter Peter Paul Rubens who 
dominates Antwerp. The longer one remains in the city 
the more powerful and impressive is this domination of 
the master painter "in whose person nature produced one 
of her most successful works, and the art of Flanders 
found its greatest manifestation." In the exterior of 
the very modern looking house on the Place de Meir, so 
"restored" out of all semblance to what it must have 
been when the master occupied it in the years following 
its erection in 1612, it is difficult to find anything what- 
ever of Rubens, but the entrance in a small street around 
the corner is more satisfying. Here the heavy door 
opens upon a courtyard with an Italian portico designed 
by the painter, reminiscent of his stay in Italy. One is 

76 



ANTWERP 

told that there was here formerly a high domed pavilion 
which contained the art treasures which he had collected. 
Here the center portal and the two side ones are decor- 
ated wth Latin quotations from Juvenal. 

Ruben's talent as an architect is manifested in the im- 
pressive frontage of the Jewish Church, destroyed by 
fire in the year 1718, which consumed the greater part 
of the interior together with most of the paintings with 
which he had adorned it. There yet remains enough 
of the construction to show his architectural skill. 

In the Rubens Chapel is his tomb bearing the date of 
his death, May 30, 1640, and giving his age as sixty- four. 
Above is a great altar piece in which the Holy Child is 
seen sitting in the lap of the Virgin in an arbor and 
worshiped by St. Bonaventura. Before the Madonna 
is St. Jerome and on the other side is St. George with 
the three holy women. According to tradition these 
saints are all family portraits. St. Jerome is said to 
represent the father of Rubens, St. George, the painter 
himself, and the three women his two wives and Mile. 
Lunden. 

A short distance from Antwerp between Vilvoorde and 
Malines, on the plains, are the remains of the Castle of 
"Steen" which Rubens bought as a country residence. It 
was really then a feudal castle, surrounded on all sides 
by a moat. Here, when already advanced in years, 
and at the height of his fame as a painter, for five 

77 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

years after his second marriage, he took up his residence. 

In the immediate neighborhood are the remains of the 
Castle of Teniers, called "Drietoren" (The Three 
Towers), where this painter, who had become a man of 
means, spent his summers with his family. "Drietoren" 
is now used as a farm house, and the towers, the upper 
floor of which was the studio, was filled with hay when 
the present writer saw it in 1910. "Steen" Castle, how- 
ever, is occupied as a residence and has been most taste- 
fully restored by a Brabantian Nobleman, Baron d' Cop- 
pens, whose reverence for Rubens is manifested in the 
present aspect of the castle and grounds. It is said that 
Rubens paid the (then) large sum of one hundred thou- 
sand guilders for this country seat, and here he lived and 
worked, proud of his young and beautiful wife, who was 
Helen Fourmont, and of his young children of whom he 
wrote so poetically and so charmingly, that one can visual- 
ize the family group amid the flowers on the well-kept 
lawns. 

At the funeral ceremonies of Rubens a monk of high 
degree from each of the six monasteries of Flanders, 
marched in the procession through the streets to the 
Church of St. Jacques, "an honor never before accorded 
to a painter." High mass was celebrated at the other 
churches, by the Freres de Notre Dame, the Augustines, 
the Carmelites, the Capuchins, the Dominicans, the Fran- 

78 



ANTWERP 

ciscans, the Beghards, and the order of Minimi. These 
ceremonies were concluded by two funeral banquets at 
the house of the painter, and at the Town Hall, the latter 
for the Town Magistrates and Aldermen or Burgesses. 
The thirty-four members of the Confraternity of Ro- 
manists met at the Golden Fleece, in his memory and 
honor, and a most magnificently engrossed parchment, 
preserved in the archives, records the purpose of the meet- 
ing. "To do honor to the Prince of Painters, and painter 
of Princes." 

Returning to troublous times, it will be remembered 
that after the Battle of Blenheim, the scene of contention 
was transferred to the low countries, and the names of 
Oudenarde, Ramilies, and Malplaquet became famous. 
In the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, by which the great con- 
test was terminated, Belgium was once more transferred 
to Austria; but Holland obtained advantages in the so- 
called Barrier Treaty, which authorized the continued 
closing of the River Scheldt and gave the States General 
the right of garrisoning the most important frontier for- 
tresses. 

In the war of Austrian Succession (or Pragmatic Sanc- 
tion) , Belgium again became the scene of operations from 
1744 to the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, and the 
name of Fontenoy, in which the British guards were de- 
feated, was added to the roll of historic battles. The 

79 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

French overran and conquered almost the whole coun- 
try. After the treaty Austria once more regained pos- 
session of Belgium, of which she remained in undisputed 
occupation for more than thirty years; for the Seven 
Years War was fought out in Germany and Bohemia 
and left Flanders unmolested. 

Austrian rule in Belgium was benevolent and con- 
trasted most favorably with Spanish tyranny; and the 
name of the Empress Queen Maria Theresa is ever 
remembered by the nation with respect and affection. 
At the rejoicings, on the occasion of the seventy-fifth an- 
niversary of Belgian independence in 1905, a special car 
allegorically arranged "to the glorious memory of Maria 
Theresa" was a prominent feature of the fetes. 

Her son and successor was less fortunate. By some 
ill-judged attempts at reform, he offended the religious 
political prejudices of his Flemish subjects and disturb- 
ances occurred at the University of Louvain and else- 
where. Joseph died in 1790, his end being hastened, 
it is said, by the failure of his well-meant attempts ; and 
the disturbances had only been just put down by his 
successor when the breaking out of the French Revolu- 
tion, and the War between France and Austria in 1792, 
kindled again the flames of strife in Belgium. The 
French had the advantage; Belgium was overrun, or- 
ganized as a separate republic, and formally ceded by 
Austria to France in the treaties of Campo Formio and 

80 



ANTWERP 

Luneville in 1797 and 1802. It was divided into de- 
partments, and formed part of the Empire of Napoleon I. 
By the treaty of London in 1814, and that of Vienna in 
1815, Belgium, after a short interregnum of Austrian 
rule, was incorporated with Holland into the Kingdom 
of the Netherlands, Prince Frederick William of Orange 
Nassau being raised to the throne. 

This arrangement, of course, did not work well. The 
Belgians, differing widely in religion, manners, and cus- 
toms, language, and ideas of government from the Hol- 
landers were intensely discontented under the new re- 
gime, and declared that their country was reduced to the 
position of a mere dependency of Holland; that they 
were not adequately represented in the Assembly by 
deputies, to which, in proportion to the wealth and popu- 
lation of their country, they should have sent 68 out of 
the complement of 110 members; and that all public 
offices were arranged and apportioned to the advantage 
of Holland, and to the detriment of Belgium. The dis- 
content increased in spite of certain concessions tardily 
made by the Government, until at the beginning of the 
year 1830, it was pointed out by the malcontents, as a 
proof of the persistent neglect of the claims of Belgium, 
that among 117 officials of the ministry of the interior 
only eleven were Belgians; among 102 officials of the 
war office only three, and among 1,573 infantry officers 
only 274, or about 1 in 5 were of Belgian nationality. 

81 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Then came press prosecutions, and exile by the Govern- 
ment of popular men, who betook themselves to France, 
and there continued their attacks upon the authorities. 

The July revolution in Paris, overturning the throne 
of Charles X, raised the hopes of the Belgian opposition. 
On August 25, 1830, that performance at the Brussels 

w 

Opera House of "La Muette de Portica," an opera em- 
bodying the story of the revolt of Naples under Masa- 
niello, brought matters to a crisis. The whole audience 
rose and left the theater in a body. There were riots 
in the streets of Brussels; the office of the Ministerial 
Newspaper was attacked and wrecked by a mob, and 
the redress of grievances loudly demanded. The au- 
thorities at The Hague temporized, evaded, and 
promised, and evaded again and again, until the move- 
ment that had commenced as a riot swelled into a revolt, 
and ended in a revolution. 

In September there were four days' fighting in Brus- 
sels, and the Dutch soldiers were defeated and forced to 
retreat. A Provisional Government was appointed, the 
French and British Governments interfered, and ulti- 
mately Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was chosen King 
of the Belgians, making his public entry into Brussels in 
July, 1831. 

After continuing the contest until threatened with 
war by the Great Powers, the King of Holland was 

82 



ANTWERP 

obliged to acknowledge the independence of Belgium, 
which from that time was governed as a liberal monarchy, 
the liberties of the people being safeguarded by the Con- 
stitution modeled upon that of England. The Govern- 
ment is carried on by a parliament consisting of an upper 
and lower house acting in conjunction with the King. 

Leopold I was the uncle and adviser of Queen Vic- 
toria. He had a prosperous reign from 1830 to 1865. 
It will be recalled that during the eventful year of 1848 
his was among the four continental thrones not seriously 
shaken. When symptoms of discontent appeared, the 
King lost no time in reminding the Assembly that he had 
been called to the throne by the voice of the people and 
he declared himself ready to abdicate. "I will pack up 
and go," said he in effect, "the moment the will of the 
nation is expressed in that direction." "Whereupon," 
says the chronicle, "he was loudly cheered and entreated 
to stay where he was." 

In 1832 he married Princess Louise, daughter of Louis 
Philippe of France. He had three sons, the second of 
whom, born on April 9, 1834, succeeded him on his death 
in 1865, w ^ tn tne title of Leopold II. This monarch was 
known and celebrated for his clear headedness and busi- 
ness ability. It is said that he was chief adviser to the 
crowned heads of Europe. To his business sagacity is 
due the success and development of the Great Belgian 

83 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Congo, with its unlimited resources, of which Leopold 
was, by agreement among the Powers in the Treaty of 
Berlin, constituted King Sovereign. 

"An astute, clear headed business man, who would 
have achieved marked success as the head of any great 
commercial enterprise" is the way in which this monarch 
was described by our great American citizen, Theodore 
Roosevelt. 

Leopold II was a man of striking physique, tall and 
slender with a small head, narrow face, ruddy complexion, 
long Roman nose, and a luxuriant square cut flowing 
white beard most carefully barbered. This tall stoop- 
ing figure, immaculately clad, the right hand grasping a 
heavy cane, supporting his lame foot, was a familiar sight 
about Ostende where he had a beautiful villa. He was 
a most popular monarch with his people, for whom poor 
or rich, he had ever a smile and a kindly word. 

Many amusing stories are told of him by the towns- 
people and none of these is ill-natured. The King was 
fond of going about the town on foot by himself, and on 
one occasion appeared at an early morning market where 
he stopped a pretty, bright-eyed peasant girl to ask what 
she had in her basket, "Eggs, mynheer." "And what is 
the price 4 ?" "Five francs apiece, mynheer." "Are eggs 
so scarce then in the market*?" "No, mynheer, but kings 
are." It is recorded that the king rewarded her hand- 
somely for her wit. 

8 4 



ANTWERP 

The King was very fond of the theater, and liked well 
to have the company of actors and singers at the enter- 
tainments which he often gave at the Royal Chalet. At 
one of these dinners which lasted long into the eve- 
ning, the people who occupied the neighboring villas 
were scandalized at the noise of the festivity, and later 
on they made complaint to the town council sending 
word that if there was a repetition of the offense, the resi- 
dent property owners in the vicinity of the Royal Chalet 
would offer their properties for sale, and abandon Os- 
tende. The town council thereupon, faced with the con- 
sequences which would certainly bring ruin upon Os- 
tende as a watering place, passed formal resolutions, ad- 
dressed to the King, which were placed in the hands of 
the Bourgomaster, and it became his duty to present these 
to the King. Accordingly the next morning he presented 
himself at the Royal Chalet, and asked audience. 

Now Leopold II was ever the easiest monarch to ap- 
proach, so the Bourgomaster was at once ushered into the 

study of the King. "Good morning, B ," called out 

his Majesty, in a loud and hearty voice. "What can I 
do for you to-day*? Come near, sit down and have a 
cigar," pushing an open box towards the stiffly standing 
and much confused and embarrassed Bourgomaster, who 
stammered out his mission in a troubled voice. "What's 
that, what's all that 4 ?" said Leopold, fixing his keen eyes 
upon the little man who stood before him with the for- 

8<? 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

mally stamped document of protest extended in his shak- 
ing hand. 

"Yes, Your Majesty," said he, "it is reported even that 
the Royal Chalet is connected by means of a tunnel 
with — " "Come, come, now, tu-tut," interrupted the 
King, "what sort of talk is all this ? Now look here, M.B. 
You may not know it but most scandalous stories about 
you have been brought to me from time to time, but I have 
not believed them of you for an instant, therefore I have 
never said a word to you regarding them, while you, you, 
whom I have thus trusted, believed in and protected, you 
at the very first opportunity, when scandal is brought to 
you, rush over here to me with it, without appreciation 
of my protection of you; you are ready and willing to 
take anything that is brought to you of me as Gospel 

truth. I am surprised B , I am much hurt B , but 

see, I forgive you and I shall forget it all, including 
all that has been told me of you, on one condition, namely, 
that you in return for my magnanimity, forget all that 
you have heard about me in regard to this absurd matter, 
and never — never — (shaking a long, beautifully mani- 
cured forefinger at him) let me hear a word of this again," 
and forcing a "perfecto" into the open mouth of the 
amazed Bourgomaster, he pushed him out of his study. 
No more complaints, it is said, were heard about the sup- 
pers at the Royal Chalet. 

A stranger in the town saw him on one occasion in 

86 



ANTWERP 

Vlietinck's book shop browsing over the cheap stalls. 
Taking up a position near at hand, where unobserved 
by the King he could watch his movements, he neverthe- 
less was too far away to be able to read the titles of the 
books which attracted and interested the King. One in 
a shabby leather binding seemed to please him; he put 
it under his arm and picked up another. All at once the 
stranger saw a young man, who was dressed in tweeds of 
a rather loud pattern much affected by a certain class of 
cheap tourists, aiming a small camera at the tall stoop- 
ing figure of Leopold, now in the full light from a win- 
dow, and presenting a fine full length side view. Now 
if, according to report, there was one thing that the King 
of the Belgians had a real horror of and hatred for, it was 
the snapshot enthusiast, so with great presence of mind 
the stranger moved quickly to his side, and said (in Eng- 
lish, which he had heard the King spoke fluently) , "On 
guard, Sir, a camera!" "Mon Dieu, where — where*?" 
said the King, turning quickly and seeing the fellow in 
the act of focusing his camera, he darted quickly away 
towards the rear of the shop, from which a clerk at once 
ran out hurriedly, and hustled the fellow away. 

It is not related whether or not he succeeded in getting 
a snapshot, or what happened to the camera. The re- 
markable personality of the King and his democratic 
ways gave rise to a score of "curious" stories, which were 
current during his busy lifetime, but many of these re- 

8 7 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

corded only his great good humor, his keen sense of jus- 
tice, and his kind and charitable attitude towards the 
common people. 

It is only within the last twenty years or so that Ant- 
werp has become what may be called a modern city, and 
this has come about through the levelling of the old for- 
tifications. And of this modernity the "Antwerpenaars" 
are perhaps immoderately vain. The criticism of Mr. C. 
B. Huet that "more thought has been expended upon the 
requirements of sanitation than those of aesthetics," is de- 
scriptive of the new outlying quarters, and the miles of 
broad carriage roads and promenades. But certainly the 
new park is most exquisitely laid out, and the great Boul- 
evard Leopold I is unforgettable with its stately sculp- 
ture of the ancient Belgian leader Boduognatus. There 
is certainly no lack of statuary in Antwerp. There is 
Rubens in the Place Verte, and elsewhere are those of 
Van Dyke, Teniers, Leys, Van Ryswyck, to mention only 
a few of the notable ones. 

There is a colossal new Palace of Justice planned by 
the architect Louis Baackelmans, who unfortunately died 
before his dream was realized. It is designed in red brick 
trimmed with a blueish stone, and perpetuates the style 
of the Belfry of the early Flemish period. The build- 
ing is of great character and well typifies its purpose. 

The so-called new Flemish Theater is built after the 

88 



ANTWERP 

form of a Greek Temple from designs by Dens, who was 
much influenced by the French architect Charles Gamier 
who built the Paris Opera House. The result is a build- 
ing of which the Belgians have every reason to be proud. 
It is worthy of being their National Theater, bearing 
every evidence of a talent — yes a genius, full cognizant 
of its high purpose. 

The National Bank, the work of Beyaert, in the style 
of the Flemish Renaissance, is a noteworthy structure. 
It resembles really the palace of a prince more than a 
building devoted to purely commercial purposes, and, as 
before remarked, the people are very proud of these artis- 
tic structures. They are also jealous of the neighboring 
city of Brussels, and the manner in which they seek to 
hide this jealousy is most amusing. 

In Antwerp are gathered and concentrated all the 
forces and virtues of Flemish nationality, while in Brus- 
sels, only about an hour distant by train, are gathered all 
the pride and aspirations of the Walloons. The Bruxel- 
lois contemptuously regard the Flemish tongue as a dia- 
lect, while the Antwerpenaars indignantly nominate the 
Walloon tongue a "patois," pure and simple. So the 
fight goes on. Polemics against the influence of Walloon 
Brussels is one of the principal arguments of the Flem- 
ish newspapers in Antwerp. However, an understand- 
ing of the literature of Belgium produced since 1830, 

89 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

in both the Flemish and French languages, is quite re- 
assuring. One finds no lack of sympathy for both in the 
writings of the Loreling sisters (Rosalie and Virginia) 
and the novels of Carol, Graviere, or for that matter, the 
often noble verse of the poet Emanuel Hill,- and the son- 
orous lines of Andre Van Hasselt, Henri Conscience, Van 
Beers, and the great Ledeganck, are certainly not out of 
sympathy with the sentiments of Charles Potrin, whether 
in prose or verse. 

Still there is a struggle on the part of the Flemish 
against what they term "the degeneration of their na- 
tionalism through French influence, and this they are 
pledged to fight to the death," "Vlaanderen voor 
Vlaamsche." 

But really it is not difficult to understand the prefer- 
ence of the "Bruxellois" for the French tongue. The 
proximity of France certainly exercises an entirely benefi- 
cent influence with its wealth of literature and art, and 
its great schools open to all. The "Antwerpenaars" 
close their eyes to such advantages. They claim that 
their own schools and academies are sufficient unto their 
needs. They say that Brussels is utterly French. Ant- 
werp, on the contrary, is entirely Flemish. 

It is the task of Albert, their hero King, to keep them in 
harmony. The King is Belgian, and the Belgians are 
certainly an admirable people. There may not now be 
much of poetry in their nature. Their task is recon- 

90 



ANTWERP 

struction, with their feet well planted on the soil. If one 
wishes to read of their poetic life as it was, there is 
Caroline Graviere's "Vieux Bruxelles," filled with great 
charm and character. 



91 



%mm\% 



€fjfN his student days, the author enjoyed taking the 
II short trip from Antwerp to Brussels on infrequent 
^^ holidays, and exploring the old Tower town, so 
picturesque and characteristic of Belgian life. It was 
then that he was introduced to the fascinations of the old 
"L'Etoile" in the rue des Harengs. Here gathered the 
representatives of the literary and artistic life of the 
town, and here, seated in a corner, he made mental notes 
of the names and characteristics of those who frequented 
this, the most unique restaurant in Brussels. 

Long before this time, "L'Etoile" was famous under 
the direction of Louis Dot, who held the rank and was 
known as the "Prince of Cooks." Conspicuously hung 
upon the wall was the framed letter from the dramatist, 
Henry Pettit, extolling the cooking of the establishment, 
and countersigned by an epicurean Lord Mayor of Lon- 
don. 

Bohemia, as it is understood in Paris, did not exist in 
Brussels. Painters and literary men seemed to have a 
hard time. Of these the painter had much the best of it, 
for literature, outside of the work of the newspaper man 

92 



BRUSSELS 

or pamphleteer, hardly existed, or if it did, it was cer- 
tainly not in evidence at the L'Etoile. 

There was a "cercle artistique et litteraire," very ex- 
clusive, it was said, in which the literary man was con- 
spicuous by his absence. There was too a sort of club of 
journalists, and a "cercle Africain," the latter devoted to 
the interests of the Congo, occupying an old building 
called the Hotel Ravenstein, headquarters of journalists 
who contributed to "Congo Illustre" and "Congo Beige," 
and these constituted all that was then known of the 
literary world of Brussels. 

The two new literary leaders, Maeterlinck and Ver- 
haeren, wrote in Paris, and were rarely seen by the Bel- 
gians. It was reserved for these two. authors to show 
that there existed in another tongue a degree of force for 
the expression of their emotions hitherto unsuspected. 
In the "Douze Chansons" of Maeterlinck, and the "Jan 
Snul" of Verhaeren, the world received revelations of 
great originality and power. Then came Camille Le- 
monnier, who was a Walloon ; the former were Flemings. 
Lemonnier wrote the very remarkable book named "Le 
Male," which was hailed and crowned as a masterwork 
by French literary circles. Were it not for the work of 
these men, it might be thought that Belgium as a nation 
was oblivious to literature, and entirely given over to 
the development of commerce. 

As a matter of fact, literature in Belgium offers few re- 

93 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

wards to its authors. The people are as a rule not read- 
ers of books. In spite of the fact that there has been no 
lack of writers, for there is a very long list of the works of 
Belgian authors, literature as a profession has not a high 
place in the public estimation. The Belgians are news- 
paper readers, and are satisfied with pamphlets bearing 
upon whatever may be the interesting topic of the day. 
To appeal to them the subject must be set forth in a com- 
pact form, in plain language, and must be cheap. They 
want fact — not fiction. 

As for the painters, they had not a very happy time of 
it. Few of those who had "arrived" remained in Brus- 
sels, preferring Paris for its atmosphere. 

However, in the old part of the town were a few 
studios, but the men who occupied them showed little if 
any real ability, and these had in truth given themselves 
up to feeble imitations in water color of the work of the 
brothers Maris, and Mauve, or J. P. Clays, the marine 
painter. In Paris, however, before the Great War, there 
was a very brilliant school of young Belgian painters and 
sculptors who were doing work which bid fair to bring 
Belgium to the front in art. It will be recalled that 
Alma Tadema, though born in Holland, owed his educa- 
tion and training to the Academy in Antwerp. 

The earnest, if almost ignored efforts of the students 
of art and literature are the more remarkable, because of 
the small remuneration accorded when the goal is won. 

94 



BRUSSELS 

In Belgium, one discovers the salaries paid in the profes- 
sions are so small as to seem a mere pittance to an Ameri- 
can. I am credibly informed that no painter, author or 
musician in Belgium earns as much as two thousand dol- 
lars a year; indeed, my informant continued, a working 
journalist is esteemed most fortunate who makes as much 
as fifteen hundred by his pen. What wonder then that 
the painters and journalists seek Paris with its attractive 
Bohemian life, where their talents at least gain that rec- 
ognition so freely and generously accorded by the French*? 

Belgium has produced a long list of meritorious sculp- 
tors. The Equestrian Statue of Godfrey de Bouillon 
in the Place Royale is one of the greatest works of its 
kind, and perpetuates the name and fame of Eugene Si- 
monis. The statues of Van Dyck and Rubens at Ant- 
werp, worthy of the highest praise, are by the brothers 
Geefs. 

Indeed, Antwerp is especially rich in statuary of the 
modern school, and William Geefs is represented in 
Brussels also by the great figure of the first Leopold which 
crowns the column of Congress. 

The sculptor finds much to be done in Belgium and his 
talent and ability are in demand for the restoration of 
the many ancient town halls, and cathedrals, the glory of 
Belgium before the Hun destroyed them utterly during 
the invasion. Perhaps the greatest of the modern Bel- 
gian sculptors is the Count James de Lalaing, a member 

95 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

of the famous Hainaut family. His work has won many 
honors both at home and abroad. 

It is not generally known that the great sculptor Au- 
guste Rodin lived here and worked for a number of years 
in comparative obscurity and poverty in a small house on 
the rue Mechlin, and that Brussels has a Rodin collection 
as well as Paris, and while the latter is much more com- 
plete and important, the works existing in Brussels are 
much older. The great collection of this master's works 
in the Hotel Biron, where he lived and toiled of late 
years, is not complete, for in Brussels scattered through- 
out the city are many real masterpieces decorating vari- 
ous public buildings, which should be carefully taken 
down and preserved by the State. 

It was during the beginning of the Franco-Prussian 
War that Rodin, with the brothers Albert and Ernest 
Carrier-Belleuse, commissioned by the Belgian architect, 
Suys, in the employ of the Government, went to Brus- 
sels to work upon the sculptures of the new Stock Ex- 
change then in construction. Beside Rodin was a Bel- 
gian, A. I. Van Rosbourg, who had been employed in the 
studios for a number of years. Being a clever artisan he 
soon assimilated the superficial qualities of the delicate 
art of his patron, and it is claimed that the latter did not 
scruple from signing many of the small works of the col- 
laborator. 

Carrier-Belleuse employed Julien Dillens, a talented 

9 6 



BRUSSELS 

decorator to "help" him with the murals of the Stock Ex- 
change. These are entirely due to the genius of the au- 
thor of "The Silence of the Tomb." In the studio of 
Carrier-Belleuse, Rodin met Dillens and between them 
grew a friendship which lasted until the death of Rodin. 
The sculptor of the "Iron Door," was in his thirtieth year 
when he met Dillens, who was only twenty. The great 
knowledge of Rodin, even then when he was all unknown 
to fame, and his generosity at once commanded the ad- 
miration and friendship of all the young workmen in the 
studio, and they applauded his energetic talks to them, 
absorbing the wise counsels which his experience enabled 
him to convey to them in simple language. 

"During this period Rodin modeled statuettes and 
'bas-reliefs' in the manner of his master and it is said 
that Carrier-Belleuse would retouch these and then sign 
them with his own name." (So says M. Sander Pierron. ) 
Rodin thus created a large number of sculptures of ad- 
mirable quality, in which no element of his individuality 
or personality is evident. For example there is the 
statue "The Innocence of Love" which was cast in bronze 
by a Brussels founder, and which no one would suspect to 
be the work of the master who wrought "The Thinker." 

When the Franco-Prussian War was ended, Carrier- 
Belleuse closed his atelier in Brussels and returned to 
Paris, leaving all the workmen including Rodin without 
employment. Unable to get work Rodin lived for 

97 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

months in misery and privation in the little back room 
in the Rue Mechlin. Without influential friends he 
knew not which way to turn, and had almost given up 
when his friend Van Rosbourg sought him out. Being 
commissioned by the Director of Fine Arts, Jean Rous- 
seau, to execute the sculptural decorations of the Stock 
Exchange Building, on the recommendation of Carrier- 
Belleuse, he was delighted to put the work in the hands of 
so competent a sculptor. Then the friends became co- 
laborators, and partners, and comparative prosperity once 
more beamed upon Rodin. 

They hired a studio in the rue Sans Souci in the su- 
burbs of Ixelles, and sent for Julian Dillens to join them. 
It was in this studio that the fine decorative sculptures 
of the New Stock Exchange were modeled. Rod- 
in's chief work in this was the four large "caryatids" of 
splendid character which decorate the Corbel in the Rue 
du Midi; the cupids on the "tympan," and the immense 
group representing "Africa" and "Asia," which ornament 
the edifice on the side walls in the rue Henri Mans. 
These groups certainly exhibit much of the nervous and 
vibrant vitality shown in the later works of the master. 

A man of the simplest character, Rodin hired comfort- 
able yet modest lodgings near the new studio in the Rue 
Sans-Souci, and then his present good fortune being as- 
sured, he began the creation of those works which are now 
scattered all over the city of Brussels. Of a generous 

9 8 



BRUSSELS 

spirit, he gave freely to the poor in the neighborhood, and 
often sat in the evening in the room of a shoemaker on 
the ground floor of the house, reading to him aloud from 
the classics and discussing social questions concerning the 
betterment of the lot of the working man. On Sunday 
afternoon Rodin with his companions was wont to visit 
the museum and Palace of the "Academies," wherein rep- 
licas of the great works of Rome and Greece were shown. 
Brabangonne Country gave him great pleasure and 
through the valleys and the forests he was wont to roam, 
studying the Walloon men and women. In these wan- 
derings he generally went alone, and in the Hotel Biron 
can be seen studies and sketches made around and about 
the Groenendael Section, studies made in pencil and col- 
ored chalks filled with the true character of the Braban- 
connes. His friends tell of these wanderings, and of his 
return at nightfall through the wild and picturesque val- 
ley of Ixelles. Often they came upon him at some road- 
side "estaminet" under the trees, bordering some one of 
the small streams of the River Cambre, drinking his glass 
of "faro," which with a slice of bread and white cheese 
formed his supper, eaten in the company of some ac- 
quaintance whom he would chance to meet during his 
wandering. 

An early riser, Rodin managed to set apart an hour or 
two daily for his personal work and study. It was dur- 
ing this period that he began and finished his celebrated 

99 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

bust "The Man with the Broken Nose," the sketch for 
which he had first made in Paris. In the Salon of 1877 
it was shown, and, sad to state, admired by only a few of 
his intimates. The only result was that a commercial 
bronze company ordered him to make two small busts to 
ornament a clock. These when finished showed uneven 
merit, and though graceful and clever contribute but lit- 
tle to his fame. For several years many replicas of these 
were made in bronze and terra cotta, and sold by Rodin 
for about one hundred francs each. His fortunes now 
were somewhat better. Earning a little money regu- 
larly, he was able to bring to his work both thought and 
vigor. Van Rosbourg entrusted nearly all of the more 
important work to Rodin, and finally gave the whole con- 
trol of the workmen and the atelier into his hands. But 
nevertheless Van Rosbourg signed all the finished work. 
"Thus the brilliant groups, representing a standing 
cupid measuring a terrestrial globe with a compass, and a 
'Belvidere' Well in the Palais des Academies in the Rue 
Doncale, though they bear the signature of Van Ros- 
bourg are entirely due to the hand of Auguste Rodin." 
(M. Sander Pierron.) The art of the master stands out 
bold and clear in these compositions. The plump flesh 
of the cupid has that life quality, that rich plastic beauty 
which distinguished the creations of the master who cre- 
ated the "Bourgeois of Calais." This is true of the great 
statues placed at the angles of the monuments erected to 

100 



BRUSSELS 

the memory of Bourgomaster Loos in the Park at Ant- 
werp. Their ensemble was conceived by Jules Pecher, 
who commissioned Van Rosbourg to execute them, who 
in turn called upon Rodin to do the work. 

Soon after this came the inevitable disagreement be- 
tween Van Rosbourg and Rodin. The partnership 
ended and they separated. Rodin now freed from the 
incubus, offered his services to the Ministere des Beaux 
Arts in the construction of the new buildings on the 
Boulevard Anspach. How well he carried out this com- 
mission may be seen in the splendid work he did on these 
"fagades," evidence of his strong and passionate genius. 
They are as follows: at the corner of Rue Gretry, six 
magnificent caryatids, in groups of three, upholding the 
balcony. The bodies are naked to the waist in narrow 
sheaths. These "Hermes" show intense life, and one 
can feel the great effort of these stone figures in support- 
ing the mighty weight under which they strain. The up- 
raised arms bend with vigor, and in the effort the breast 
muscles seem to grow tense and swell before one's eyes. 
This is Rodin at his best, in all his originality, his power, 
and his beauty of execution. The whole front of the 
building is animated by them. Yet he was but poorly 
paid for them. Each of the three series of "Caryatids," 
the modeling of which had taken many months of hard 
work and study, brought to Rodin the sum of 750 francs. 

Yet he toiled on and produced, for the same incredibly 

101 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

small pay, four other splendid caryatids of even more 
severe beauty, destined for the front wall of a neighbor- 
ing building on the same boulevard at the corner of the 
Rue des Pierres. To show how little these were valued 
as works of art, the building was partly demolished in 
the year 1899 and two of these splendid figures were 
broken up by workmen before they could be rescued by 
the artists who knew and valued them. Of these Jef. 
Lembeaux succeeded in buying the remaining figures for 
a trifling sum and had them removed to his studio in the 
Rue Tyrol, where they remained for fifteen years. At 
the outbreak of the world war the studio of Lembeaux 
was transformed into a food shop and the community of 
Saint Gilles ordered them to be removed for some reason 
hard to explain. 

They were carted off to a building in the Rue Saint 
Croix-de-Pierre which was used by the Sculptor Alphonse 
de Tombay as an art school, and during the removal they 
were badly mutilated by the careless handling of the car- 
ters. Here they were set up in dark corners of the hall- 
way and here they were still standing wreathed in cob- 
webs at last reports. 

It is hoped that they may be placed in the museum in 
an honored position, due to their great artistic value, and 
as a tribute to the sculptor. And not only these, but the 
other works scattered over Brussels, which constitute a 
veritable Rodin Museum, works conceived in painful 

102 



BRUSSELS 

hours of poverty and toil for which the beholder can only 
feel the thrill of admiration and wonder. 

But if the writers and painters are not encouraged, 
the architects have little to complain of for lack of pat- 
ronage. The profession of architecture is one of the 
most successful and the most highly remunerated. This 
fact is due to the encouragement given by Leopold II, 
who inaugurated a regular plan for the improvement of 
Brussels in both an aesthetic and artistic sense, which plan, 
if followed out by King Albert, will make it entirely 
worthy of its most picturesque site. 

There is the necessity of providing new residential 
sections for the rapidly increasing population, now that 
the war is over, and the upbuilding and embellishment 
of the devastated towns, particularly Ypres, Dixmude, 
Alost and Termonde, which present remarkable problems 
and will tax the ingenuity of the architects. The ques- 
tion of adequate, comfortable housings for the workmen 
and their families, which shall be at the same time of low 
cost, is a most important factor in the work. 

In Brussels, as in other large cities all over the world, 
there exists an acute shortage of dwelling houses and 
apartments. The population of greater Brussels, which 
at the end of 1913 was about eight hundred thousand, 
is now estimated at more than eight hundred fifty thou- 
sand. Needless to say, there has been no new building 
construction during the period of German occupation, 

103 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

nor has there been any very considerable resumption since 
the signing of the Armistice. 

Before the war, the municipality of Brussels organized 
a corporation to meet the demand for the construction of 
dwelling houses, which were to become the property of 
the city at the expiration of a ninety-nine year lease. 
This corporation had undertaken but little work when 
the war broke out, and it is estimated that there is now 
immediate need for the construction of ten thousand 
houses and apartments in the city. 

It is now reported that the Belgian Government is pre- 
pared to enact a law creating a national society for con- 
structing dwelling houses, to be leased at a reasonable 
price to people of moderate means. in view of the conges- 
tion prevailing in some of the other large manufacturing 
towns in Belgium. This matter is at present under con- 
sideration by King Albert, now that the loan by the 
United States is an assured fact, and the King is most 
enthusiastic as to its accomplishment. He is quoted as 
saying that "to him the sound of the workman's hammer 
is the sweetest of musical sounds." 

It is said that some of the greatest fortunes in Europe 
had their beginnings in Brussels, and certainly some of 
the most splendid of the palaces of the merchants on the 
Boulevard are occupied by men whose names are very 
pillars of strength in the "Bourses" of the world. It is a 
fact that the majority of these great financiers are not 

104 



BRUSSELS 

Belgians, but Jews; and one recalls that great age of 
Flemish prosperity when "only Jews and Lombards were 
allowed to deal in money." Of course these merchant 
princes stand very high in social life, but even so there 
are some circles that are closed to them, more especially 
the establishments of the Catholics with whom, naturally, 
they are not popular. 

Likewise one finds constantly in the Belgian journals 
complaints that Belgium is exploited by the Jews, and 
among the bourgeois class a strong and increasing ani- 
mosity is evinced towards them. Society in Brussels is 
formed of three factions : the Nobles, the Officials, and 
the Financiers. The writers, the artists (meaning paint- 
ers) and the musicians do not, as we have seen, receive 
the recognition accorded them in Paris by right of their 
talents. King Albert and the Queen, however, by their 
sympathy with the three arts, are doing much to correct 
this state of affairs, and the Queen herself is an accom- 
plished musician. 

The other great cities of Belgium, Antwerp, Ghent, 
and Liege, each have distinct social organizations con- 
trolled by their own social leaders. That of Antwerp is 
formed of the magnates who dwell in the palaces built 
on the boulevards, formerly the boundaries of the old 
city. These hold to the Flemish language and customs 
exclusively. 

The name Brussels is derived from Briig, a bridge, and 

105 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Broock, a marsh on the banks of the Senne, the settle- 
ment dating from the Sixth Century. The first transfor- 
mation of Brussels began after the constitution of the 
Kingdom of Belgium, under the jurisdiction of Bourgo- 
master de Brouckere who planned and carried out the sys- 
tem of circular boulevards on the emplacements of the 
ancient fosses which surrounded the town. These boule- 
vards, now planted with great trees, and bordered by 
rows of palatial dwellings of the rich merchants, form a 
most beautiful promenade. They extend from what is 
termed the "ville haute" or upper town, to the "ville 
basse" or lower town, and constitute the limits of the 
"Commune" of Brussels. This is said to be still a sort 
of agglomeration of independent "communes," which are 
being separated by the "fauburgs" and enjoy all the 
privileges of townships. 

This construction of the boulevards, which coincided 
with the suppression of the "octrois" or collection oi 
taxes at the city gates, greatly facilitated the extension of 
the town and contributed powerfully to its advantage 
Followed by the complete transformation of the ancient 
lower town with its narrow, dark and tortuous streets, 
Brussels emerged from its former aspect of a sleepy, down 
at heel, provincial Brabantian town, to that of a modern 
European city with all its glitter and gayety. 

It is in the lower town, where once was the island of 
Saint-Gery, now covered over and occupied by a market, 

106 



BRUSSELS 

that one must seek for the very heart of ancient Brussels. 
Here was the beginning of the town in the dark ages. 
In the library the courteous custodian will, if you con- 
vince him of your interest in such matters, go to the 
trouble of placing before you on an ancient Spanish 
oaken table, certain venerable tomes bound in pig skin, 
and bearing the imprint of Plantin-Moretus, whose great 
printing house in Antwerp is described in another chap- 
ter. 

In these ancient books you may read of the lives of the 
"Vrai Autochtones," the "Mangeurs de poulettes," 
whose fame is set forth and "Legendaire Bruxellois gour- 
mandise." 

Before the transformation commenced in 1868 by 
Burgomaster Anspach, this lower town was a swarming 
hive of humanity ; a tangle of tortuous streets, following 
the course of the Senne River. It was highly pictur- 
esque, if unwholesome, and engravings of it are to be seen 
in the communal museum, which are the delight of anti- 
quaries. 

The last years before the outbreak of the great war 
witnessed the demolishment little by little, of all that 
made Brussels interesting from an artistic and archaeolog- 
ical point of view. Great wide streets were run through 
the old quarters, and these were lined with monotonous 
solid house fronts in the incoherent "modern" style. 
This accomplished, there remained very little of the 

107 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

quaint Brabantian town known to the past generation; 
Brussels had become a clean, comfortable, sanitary and 
entirely modern city. 

But a few of the ancient monuments still remain to 
delight one's eyes. The most remarkable of these are 
grouped on the Grand Place, which, combining most 
charmingly the flamboyant Gothic of the houses or Guild 
Halls of the Commune, with the delicious "bad taste" 
of the "Corporations," constitute a true and incompar- 
able picture of Flemish mediaeval times. 

This ensemble, so truly monumental, gives an effect of 
great richness to the Square. The two monuments which 
confront the traveler, the venerable Hotel de Ville, and 
its dependence, the (so-called) Maison du Roi, seem as 
unreal as painted scenes. Covered with encrusted gilt 
ornament, statuary, and myriads of columns, balconies 
and cornices, they present an aspect of ostentation, which, 
if not entirely pure in style, is certainly none the less of 
great charm. 

Seemingly all the richness and lavishness of the ancient 
town was concentrated on these buildings. The Hotel 
de Ville, with its most admirable gilded "fleche" sur- 
mounted by a statue of Saint Michael, is one of the most 
unique buildings in the land. It was begun in the year 
1402, after the plans of the architect Jean Van Ruys- 
broeck who is said to have been one of "the most wise 
and ingenious masters of his time." 

108 



BRUSSELS 

In ten years after the first stone was laid, the exquisite 
tower with its gilded statue was finished. The plan of 
Van Ruysbroeck seems to have called for a similar tower 
at the other end, but from one cause or another, it was 
not until the end of the Fifteenth Century that the other 
half of the building, the western end, was built. It is 
not exactly like the first. 

There is a legend that the architect Regnard, having 
made a miscalculation which was not discovered until too 
late to correct it, threw himself in his despair from the 
summit of the new tower. Whatever the mistake, if mis- 
take there was, the effect of variety thus accomplished is 
most happy and pleasing, and the building as a whole 
forms one of the most precious examples of fifteenth cen- 
tury architecture in the world. 

Facing the Hotel de Ville is the so called "Maison du 
Roi," formerly styled the "Broodhuis." Before the con- 
struction of the Hotel de Ville, it was the office of the 
municipality, and is even now given over to certain 
"bureaux" of mystery, and shelters a curious sort of mus- 
eum. It is certainly remarkable for the many gilded and 
quaint statues which ornament its venerable roof. 

The most beautiful of the houses on the Grand Place 
is, of course, the "Maison du Roi" (Broodhuis in Flem- 
ish) which served in the Fifteenth Century as a depot 
for the storage and distribution of bread to the people of 
the town. From its windows the Duke of Alva wit- 

109 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

nessed the beheading of twenty-five of the leading citi- 
zens including the Count of Hoorn, who spent his last 
night in one of the dungeons. The fatal scaffold was 
erected on a platform extending from the balcony. 

In the corner at the beginning of the Rue de la Tete 
d'Or is the house known as "Le Renard," the Guild of the 
Silk Mercers, the carved panels of which show cupids 
handling rolls and banderoles of silk, under a massive 
balcony supported by Caryatides. 

The next is that of the Batelliers (Boatmen) dated 
1697, and is surmounted by gilded figures of Neptune 
with his tritons, and over them under the gable two great 
gilt cannon guarded by a sailor. Beside this is "La 
Louve," the Guild of the Archers, now the house of the 
Masons, which shows a large group representing the She 
Wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. Four statues 
adorn the second story, and on the pinnacle is a gilded 
Phoenix emblematic of its immortality. The Guild of 
Carpenters adjoins it, and the house is known as "La 
Brouette," dated 1697. The first two stories rest on at- 
tached columns, and the third on five Caryatides partially 
gilt. 

Next comes the "Le Sac," the house of the Guild of 
Printers and Booksellers, built the same year. The fa- 
cade has three tiers of attached columns, the center tier 
being twisted. Under the gable is a short thick cylinder 
resembling a sack on which are the names of Fust, Guten- 

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BRUSSELS 

berg, and ShefTer, the three master printers, whose por- 
traits are carved on a medallion above. Then comes the 
Guild house of the Bakers, the work of Jean Cosyns. 
The trophy adorning the fagade is that of the bust of 
Charles II, King of Spain, and over the doorway is the 
bust of St. Aubert, patron of the Bakers. 

At the corner is the House of Aldermen, which ante- 
dates the Hotel de Ville. Next is the corporation of 
Butchers, called the "Cygne," and beside it is the Guild 
of the Brewers, surmounted by an equestrian figure by 
Jacquet of Prince Charles of Lorraine, Governor of the 
Netherlands from 1741 to 1780. This house is orna- 
mented further by three panels between the two upper 
stories, showing cupids making and drinking beer. 

On the east side of the place is the Hall of Weights 
and Measures, ornamented with a profusion of busts, re- 
liefs, and tall fluted pilasters. Next to it in the rue de la 
Colline, is the House of the Scales, or Balances, showing 
the figures of two blackamoors supporting the balcony, 
and beneath the "Soffit" of the arch are two cupids, one 
with scales, the other with a trumpet. Opposite the 
Hotel de Ville is the "Taupe," the Tailors' Guild, with 
richly gilt pilasters. The Painters' Guild adjoins it, 
called the "Pigeon," with four lions heads in relief on 
the wall. 

One can never forget this Square of Brussels. It is a 
dream of flashing gold. No matter how gray the skies, 

111 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

these ancient buildings shine out of the shadows of the 
market place, lending a character and charm all too 
subtle to be described in print. 

In the Grand Place in November of last year (1919), 
a most unique ceremony was carried out with all the so- 
lemnity and dignity of which the Flemish people are cap- 
able. It seems that the death penalty, although still 
under the law, is not carried out literally in Belgium. 

Accordingly the names of criminals and malefactors, 
sentenced to death, are publicly placarded in the Grande 
Place by the public executioner. In this instance the 
names were those of the directors and editors of Le Brux- 
ellois, the pro-German paper published in Belgium dur- 
ing the German occupation. 

After gloating over this Square, there remains to one 
only Sainte Gudule, which assuredly is almost, if not 
quite, all that a great Gothic cathedral should be. My 
drawing shows it as I saw it at nightfall. I like to re- 
member it thus towering majestically against the sky. 

What may be styled the key of the three parts which 
dominate the town artistically, is that formed by the 
charming park, laid out in the very best style of Louis 
XV, both buildings and grounds the work of the architect 
Guimard, who certainly was influenced by Gabriel, who 
planned and carried out the splendid Place de la Con- 
corde in Paris. It may be said that there is also a strong 
resemblance in the palaces to Compiegne. In the Park 

112 



BRUSSELS 

itself, the work of Linner is hand in hand with both Kent 
and LeNotre, reminiscent of the little Trianon at Ver- 
sailles, and its large open and spacious vistas. 

The Park has some really magnificent trees of giant 
size, kept in perfect order, and the view across the Place 
Beillard is the pride of the town. The view of the en- 
virons from the Place du Congres, with the clustering 
roofs of the city in the hollow, is more than satisfying. 

The fine column of "Congres," by Polaert, has a gal- 
lery around it from which one can get a still more ex- 
tended vista. The column itself is styled "magnificent" 
by the townspeople, who are inordinately proud of all the 
Eighteenth Century accompaniments; the King's Palace, 
the mansion of the Count of Flanders, and the Church of 
St. James, with its group of colored statues by Portaels, 
andSimonis's fine equestrian statue of Godefroi de Bouil- 
lon. At the rear of the Royal Library is the old Court, 
an example of the School of Architecture of Guimard at 
its very best. 

One can well believe that it took more than three hun- 
dred years to finish St. Gudule, although it owes its pres- 
ent aspect of perfection to the Architect DeCurte. St. 
Gudule certainly owes much to the site it occupies, for not 
many Gothic churches have the advantages of forming 
the crowning point of a steep hill. What can exceed the 
monumental dignity with which this great Gothic struc- 
ture rears its towers against the sky? 

113 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

St. Gudule and the towers of the Town Hall dwell in 
one's mind inseparably as characteristic of Brussels. 
That slender clustered column of such exquisite charac- 
ter and proportions is the work of a contemporary of 
Hans Memling, and Roger Van der Weyden was pres- 
ent at the ceremonies of the laying of its cornerstone in 
the Market Place surrounded by that array of mediaeval 
guild houses which are the pride and wonder of Europe. 
Chronicles tell of their partial destruction when the 
City was bombarded in 1695, and that they were "im- 
mediately restored." Such was the love of art shown by 
the townspeople. 

If this "restoration" was accomplished with an ana- 
chronism here and there, then it is hard, if not entirely 
impossible, to discover it. The ensemble is perfect. 
Nowhere else in the Netherlands can one find such a 
tableau of the past. Travelers familiar with Florence 
have noted a certain curious resemblance between the 
towers of the Brussels Town Hall and that of the Pa- 
lazzo Vecchio when viewed from a distance. Of course, 
the Florentine tower is the elder of the two, but there are 
certain vague resemblances. The history of the great 
Italian trading cities shows the same general character- 
istics, so why not the architecture'? 

Flanders and ancient Brabant were linked by art as 
well as commerce. Ghent and Bruges produced such ar- 
tists as the Van Eycks and Memling, while Antwerp hon- 

114 



BRUSSELS 

ored Rubens, Jordaens, and Van Dyck, and then follow 
the names of Hugo Van der Goes, Van der Weyden, de 
Crayer and Teniers. 

So the love of art must have certainly been both innate 
and strong with the people of ancient Brussels, and their 
commercial life went hand in hand with it. Nations are 
on the right path when they resolve that their purpose 
shall lead to such parliaments. The present mission of 
the King is to call into life an ideal condition for the indi- 
vidual as well as for the community. 

The stranger in Brussels, if he is without friends to en- 
tertain him, will find the town after nightfall rather dis- 
mal, and he will think that it must have changed much 
since the day it earned the popular title of "the Paris 
of the low countries." 

There is certainly not much of the gayety of Paris to 
be found in the town and the "night life" is not at all in 
evidence. The best of the restaurants are hidden away 
in narrow streets, and their exteriors are as gloomy and 
devoid of light as those quaint coffee houses one finds in 
London, with, perhaps, the single exception of the Savoy. 
There are, to be sure, the Cafe de Paris and the Grand 
Hotel Grill-Room with an entrance in the Rue Gre.try, 
but these have not very much character or the local color 
(although the food and the company are both above re- 
proach) of the Savoy. 

Some old travelers recommend the Epaule de Mouton 

115 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

and the Faille Dechiree, others insist upon the merits of 
Wiltcher's and Duranton's. The Faille Dechiree will 
be found in the Rue Chair et Pain at the corner, and is a 
picturesquely decorated sort of tunnel where Lobster a la 
Newburg is the piece de resistance. 

A rather celebrated restaurant was the Epaule de Mou- 
ton, hidden away in one of the small back streets be- 
hind the Grand Place, called the Rue des Harengs. 
Here side by side were found the best restaurants of 
Brussels, all quaintly named as the "Gigot de Mouton," 
the "Filet de Boeuf" and the "Epaule de Mouton" be- 
fore mentioned. There was great rivalry between the 
proprietors of these, and the patrons of each stoutly main- 
tained their superiority. However, it was all in a 
friendly spirit, and one could dine well at either for a 
comparatively small sum. 

In the rue Gretry was a small eating house which en- 
joyed great renown among the gastronomers, indeed even 
an international reputation. This was the Lion d' Or 
kept by one Adolphus LeTellier, who was a sort of per- 
sonage in the gastronomic world, and who charged for his 
"plats" accordingly to whim, although everything on the 
menu was plainly marked. To dispute the bill which he 
rendered was to incur his "displeasure," so I was in- 
formed. 

Certainly the "diners" he served were models of qual- 
ity, and the wines, particularly his Burgundy, were be- 

116 



BRUSSELS 

yond reproach. The bill too, as I remember it, was far 
from exorbitant. 

In my student days Wiltcher's restaurant on the 
Boulevard de Waterloo was a justly famous place where 
we could get the best dinner in the Netherlands for the 
low price of three francs. Wiltcher was a great charac- 
ter, who presided over his establishment with a degree 
of dignity that was most impressive. He was popularly 
known as "The Duke," and he wore some sort of decora- 
tion in the buttonhole of his long black frock coat. He 
had so many regular patrons that it was often difficult 
to get a seat at one of the tables, unless one was intro- 
duced by one of the patrons. 

Many amusing stories were told of the elder Wiltcher's 
peculiarities, one regarding the lack of fruit on the menu. 
It seems that on one occasion a party of diners com- 
plained to him that only apples and oranges were to be 
found on the menu, when a better choice might be had 
elsewhere. Wiltcher listened with his customary affabil- 
ity and promised that thereafter a change would be made. 
Sure enough on the next day there was a change. No 
fruit whatever was on the bill of fare, nor was any to 
be had thereafter in Wiltcher's. 

He made a specialty of strange game in season. Mr. 
Newnham Davis mentions the fact of his having eaten a 
dish of the "Outarde" or great bustard, whose flesh was 
like that of the turkey (Newnham Davis — "The Gour- 

117 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

met's Guide to Europe"), and that of the "gangas," a 
Japanese partridge. ("Gangas du Japon a la Broche.") 
He gives a specimen menu of Wiltcher's — price three 
francs : 

Surely an amazing dinner for sixty cents. 

» 

Consomme a la Reine 

Ouartier d'Agneau 

Filet de sole a la Normande 

Mint sauce a' la Anglaise 

Epinards a'la Creme 

Porcade de Bruxelles en cocotte 

Croquettes des Pommes de Terre 

Gangas du Japon a'la Broche 

Compote de Mirabelles 

Salade de Laitue 

Glace Arlequin 

Biscuits de Reims 

Cafe. 

He speaks of Justine's, "Quai au Bois a' Bruler." 
Justine's is a little fish restaurant on the Quai by the 
side of the fish market. It has distinctly a bourgeois 
character. "It is not the sort of place you would choose 
to take a lady in her summer frock, but you get a fine 
fish dinner there nevertheless." There is no restaurant 
in the world where Moules a' la Mariniere are served to 
such perfection, and you can rely on every bit of fish 
supplied there being fresh. The exterior is unattractive, 
even dirty, and the service inside is somewhat rough. 

118 



BRUSSELS 

On Fridays the place is always crowded, and there may 
be difficulty about retaining a room upstairs, where it is 
best to go when you wish to be specially well served. 

"In the old days it was the fashion to go on Fridays to 
'Le Sabot,' a 'restaurant estaminet' of the same order 
a little lower down on the quay, which had a reputation 
for its manner of cooking mussels; but since the death 
of old Francois who kept it, the place does not appear 
much in favor, and the tide of custom now flows towards 
Justine's. It must be remembered that this house is men- 
tioned simply as a feature of Brussels life and not as a 
representative restaurant. . . ." On Wednesdays all 
the Brussels restaurants are crowded, this being Bourse 
day and in more senses than one "Market day," when 
over five thousand strangers, mostly men, come into the 
city from provincial towns. 

In conclusion, I may mention that I have failed to dis- 
cover the restaurant where George Osborne gave his 
"great dinner" to the Bareacres a few days before the bat- 
tle of Waterloo. Thackeray records that as they came 
away from the feast, Lord Bareacres asked to see the bill, 
and "pronounced it a d — bad dinner and d — dear." 
Probably the place is extinct, for happily the double pro- 
nouncement cannot be applied to the dinner I have eaten 
at any of the restaurants mentioned in this chapter. 

There is certainly a very marked contrast between the 
life "au restaurant" in Brussels and in Paris. The Bel- 

119 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

gian is a great home body, and prefers his dinner at home 
surrounded by his family. Dining at a restaurant is a 
great occasion for him and, as a rule, is celebrated on Sun- 
day or a holiday "al fresco," and he will probably go to 
the Bois de la Cambre, where he will sit with his wife and 
children the whole evening drinking the light beer called 
"geuze lambeck." Society, however, scorns the Bois de 
la Cambre, and drives out to Groenendall through the 
beautiful old forest of Soignies. 

In the Vauxhall Gardens concerts are given by the or- 
chestra of the opera, and here one gets an admirable idea 
of the fashionable life of the town. The Belgian is a 
great and enthusiastic lover of music, no gathering of 
importance is without its accompaniment of a band of 
music. In every commune throughout the kingdom will 
be found its "symphonie," sometimes two of them, one 
Catholic, the other Liberal, even the Socialists march with 
trumpets and beating drums; strangers are mystified at 
funeral gatherings and processions where the gorgeously 
painted and gilded hearse is preceded by a full band of 
music; fancying it to be in honor of the passing of some 
eminent statesman or public character, they find that the 
late lamented was the local baker or fish dealer, or such. 

Brussels has an excellent college of music, where for 
a surprisingly small sum a course of instruction may be 
had by any foreigner, while for the Belgian there is no 
charge whatever. Many English and American students 

120 



BRUSSELS 

enjoy its facilities for which they pay only a fraction of 
what it would cost them in Paris. The institution is un- 
der the direction of the state, and the "Conservatoire" 
diplomas are highly prized by musicians. 

Perhaps the most beautiful feature of Brussels is the 
mile and a half long avenue Louise, bordered by noble 
lime and chestnut trees, and divided by a broad carriage 
drive, which was completed about forty years ago. This 
noble avenue is lined on either hand by fine modern 
houses built of a blueish grained stone. The Quartier 
Louise, however, is less fashionable than the Quartier 
Leopold, but the former houses the greater part of the 
English colony, and is said to be, because of its gravel 
soil, the healthier. 

The long avenue bordered by two rows of fine lime 
trees, forming the center of the Boulevard, in the so 
called upper town, and reaching from the Jardin Bo- 
tanique to the Porte of Hal, was planted by Prince 
Charles of Lorraine in the middle of the Eighteenth Cen- 
tury. In those days the ancient walls of Brussels fol- 
lowed this curve. The walls were demolished after the 
war of independence. 

Within the last few years another noble avenue has 
been completed leading in an easterly direction to the 
Park of Tervueren. This was originally a royal park 
but is now occupied by the Congo Museum. In the 
grounds are several large lakes and some noble trees. 

121 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

The ancient castle of Tervueren was the residence of the 
Dukes of Brabant, and in the old Abbey Church are their 
tombs. 

Perhaps the most suggestive spot in the town is the 
Place des Martyrs, between the Rue Fosse aux Loups and 
the Rue St. Michel. Here in the center stands the mon- 
ument erected to the memory of the patriots who fell in 
the struggle against the Dutch in the war of 1820. An 
allegorical figure representing liberated Belgium is re- 
cording the four days of September, the twenty-third to 
the twenty-sixth, rendered memorable by the combat. 
At her feet rests the Belgian lion, and the broken chains 
indicate the happy era thus commenced. In an under- 
ground gallery are inscribed the names of ithe four hun- 
dred and forty-five patriots who fell in the struggle. 

Perhaps the most famous of the Belgian architects dur- 
ing the last century are Polaert and Guimard. Polaert 
it was who conceived and constructed the impressive and 
grandiose Palace of Justice which overlooks and dom- 
inates Brussels. St. Peter's at Rome served him as a 
model for the dome. The great white pile of buildings, 
which covers more ground space than St. Peter's, occu- 
pied more than twenty years in its construction, and cost 
one million, eight hundred thousand pounds sterling. 
Belgians are wont to hold up their hands in dismay when 
quoting this cost, but as a matter of fact it is believed that 

122 



BRUSSELS 

rhe work could not have been done elsewhere for double 
the figure. 

It is said to be the most extensive architectural con- 
struction of the Nineteenth Century, as well as one of the 
most beautiful of modern buildings. The area occupied 
is upwards of two hundred and seventy thousand square 
feet, the building basis measuring five hundred and 
ninety feet long by five hundred and sixty feet wide. 
In designing it the architect avowed that his plan was 
to adapt Assyrian "motif" to modern requirements, us- 
ing the Graeco-Roman style with Rococo ornamenta- 
tion. This sounds somewhat incongruous, but really the 
effect is very good. 

The main body of the building is surmounted by a 
rectangular structure surrounded with beautifully pro- 
portioned columns, which in turn uphold a graceful ro- 
tunda topped by a small dome bearing a great golden 
crown, the whole rising more than four hundred feet 
above the court of the rue des Minimes. 

Colossal figures representing Justice, Law, Force and 
Mercy, the work of the sculptors Dutrieux, Desenfans, 
Vingotte and DeTombay, embellish the rotunda. Great 
flights of steps ascending to the vestibule are flanked 
by colossal statues of Demosthenes and Lycurgus, the 
work of A. P. Cattier, and Cicero and Domitius by A. F. 
Boure. 

123 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

In the middle of the Boulevard, at the southern ex- 
tremity of the city, rises the great tower called the Porte 
de Hal, now the sole remaining remnant of the ancient 
town wall and battlements of the Fourteenth Century. 
Built in the year 1381, it was occupied two centuries 
later by the Duke of Alva during his reign of terror in the 
Netherlands. Of square form, it has three great vaulted 
chambers rising in successive stories, and is crowned by a 
projecting tower. It now houses the Royal Museum of 
Arms and Armor, and contains some of the fiendish in- 
struments of torture used on the hapless prisoners dur- 
ing the Inquisition, and a quite remarkable and well ar- 
ranged collection of prehistoric Greek, Etruscan and 
Frankish weapons, from the Royal Arsenal which was 
dispersed in the year 1794. There are also many suits 
of ancient German and Spanish armor, and some curious 
stuffed skins of the horses ridden by the Archduke Albert 
and the Infanta Isabella on the day of their entry into 
Brussels in 1599. On the upper floor is an ethnological 
collection chiefly from the Congo Free State, and the col- 
lection of Belgian firearms made by Leopold I, who was 
an "amateur" of distinction. 



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^BtoHE Belgian poet, Ledeganck, extolling his native 
III town, Ghent, in sonorous verse, called it "the 
^■^ doughty lions lair of yore" and this describes it 
well. Others differently moved have called it the City 
of the Van Eycks, to distinguish it from Bruges, which 
they name the City of Memlings. Perhaps nothing so 
fascinates in one's explorations of an ancient town as the 
infinite variety of impressions bequeathed by a past civ- 
ilization, and it may be said truthfully that Ghent of to- 
day quite answers one's fondest and most enthusiastic 
expectations as to antiquity and picturesqueness, in spite 
of the modernity which is slowly creeping over it. 

Indeed, the clang of the tram car bell under the frown- 
ing front of the great gray stone chateau of the Counts of 
Flanders does not at all disturb one's sense of the fitness 
of things, and the quaint green and yellow umbrellas of 
the market stalls under its ancient, gray walls, seem a 
very fitting accompaniment and quite necessary to the 
picture. 

The fact that modern Ghent has forgotten that it had 
the reputation of being "the doughty lion's lair," is every- 

125 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

where evident, and years before the outbreak of the war 
it had more fame as the center of the floriculture so suc- 
cessfully practiced by the Belgians since the year of their 
independence. Indeed the perseverance and enterprise 
of the Belgian gardeners was famed throughout Europe, 
and no voyage of exploration was too difficult or costly 
to them, in securing from the far ends of the world, the 
roots and seeds which they have so successfully grown 
in the gardens of Ghent. 

Those were princely patrons of floriculture in the 
olden days; those Ghiesbreghts, Van Houttes, De 
Jonghes and Galeottis, to mention only a few of the 
greater names, who scoured the forests of South America 
for rare plants and flowers. The orchid was brought to 
Europe by Julius Linden from Brazil and from his cul- 
ture and study of the plant have grown more than one 
hundred and fifty varieties, from which thousands of 
specimens have been classified and named. 

In addition to this, there are miles of flower beds in 
the nursery gardens of the town from which are exported 
yearly great cargoes of camelias, azaleas, orange trees 
and other hothouse plants. The winter garden of Co- 
vent van Kerckhove is perhaps the most noteworthy, and 
in the great heated glass and iron buildings on his estate 
are the very finest specimens of palm trees waving over 
great beds of brilliant orchids; and there are here to be 
found veritable forests of azaleas, camelias and begonias. 

126 



GHENT 

In Ghent society is more exclusively Flemish than in 
Brussels or Antwerp, and here the social magnates are 
manufacturers rather than merchants, and here too are 
still maintained the palatial residences of some of the 
ancient Flemish families whose names are forever em- 
blazoned on the annals of Flemish history, and who con- 
stituted the civic nobility of the Flemish cities. 

In these families certain offices such as those of Bourgo- 
master, and Sheriff have become hereditary, for instance, 
it is said that the governors of Flemish provinces are al- 
ways selected from the families of Van Kerckhove, Ry- 
hove, and Liederkerke, who have been Bourgomasters 
and Governors since the days of the Van Arteveldes. 

The remaining representatives of the old Netherlands' 
nobility, those whose pedigrees date from the time of the 
crusades and the founding of the order of the Golden 
Fleece during the Burgundian epoch, constitute the first 
order of Belgian society. These are the families of De- 
Legue, D'Arenberg, Chimay, Croy, Lalaing, D'Asshe and 
Merode. Of these families the D'Arenbergs and De- 
Lignes are more German and Austrian than Belgian. 
The Duke of D'Arenberg in the male line is a DeLigne, 
and is an officer in the Garde du Corps. His palace in 
Brussels was famed for its great picture gallery which was 
removed to Germany before the outbreak of the Great 
War. [ !] A wing of this palace was formerly the res- 
idence of Count Egmont. Members of the other fami- 

127 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

lies named have been long identified with the diplomatic 
service. Count de Merode was Prime Minister, and 
Prince de Carignan-Chimay held the post of Foreign Min- 
ister for an extended period. 

As for Ghent of to-day, the observer finds some very 
impressive modern buildings, such for instance as the 
University, and the Palace of Justice; but these, while 
handsome and well adapted to their uses, are neither 
Flemish nor Gothic, nor do they fit in, so to speak, with 
the ancient buildings surrounding them. So one turns 
instinctively to the Old Market place, where the Flemish 
gables stand in a wide circle around the splendid statue 
of Jacob Van Artevelde, with the old belfry in the back- 
ground; surmounted by the gilded copper dragon made in 
Ghent in 1378. Originally placed on the Belfry at 
Bruges by Baudoin, Count of Flanders, it was brought to 
Ghent by Philip Van Artevelde, and is one of the chief 
treasures of the town. In the Belfry hangs the cele- 
brated "Great Roland" bell, bearing the inscription in 
Flemish : — 

"Myn rnaem is' Roelant; 
^V als ick Kleppe dan is' t brand; 

als ick luyde, is't victorie in Vlaendrenland." 

'("My name is Roland; when I toll there is a fire, and 
when I peal there is Victory in Flanders.") 

Passing through the old Marche au Buerre one comes 

128 



GHENT 

upon the Hotel de Ville of the Fifteenth Century, one of 
the finest buildings of its kind to be found in Flanders. 
It may be that its interior is somewhat disappointing; one 
rather expects great staircases and a banquet hall of royal 
proportions, or at least a great inner court with statues 
and a fountain; but the Fleming expended all his art 
upon the exterior, and here there is such a magnificent dis- 
play, that one leaves it with a feeling of bewildered con- 
tent, and filled with a variety of lasting impressions. 

The most stupendous monument in the town is the 
chateau of the counts, which was built as a stronghold in 
the year 868 by Baldwin of the Iron Arm, against the 
Norman invasion. Part of this castle, now completely 
and most admirably restored, dates from the Roman 
epoch. Up to the year 1880 it was used as a cotton mill, 
and in the great Donjon more than one thousand work- 
men labored at their machines. 

Here Edward III and the Victor de Poitiers dwelt at 
different periods, and John of Gaunt (Ghent) first saw 
the light in one of the small chambers in the turret. 
Nearby the Emperor Charles V was born in the year 1500, 
when the chateau was already hoary with age. Charles 
always evinced great fondness for his birthplace and in- 
deed for all things Flemish. His punning boast to Fran- 
cis I of France is famous, "Je Mettrais Votre Paris dans 
mon Gand" ("I could put your Paris in my glove") . 

Other great men claimed Ghent as their native town. 

129 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

There was Jacques Van Artevelde and his son Philippe, 
Jacques supported Edward III in his claim to the French 
throne, and lost his life facing the rabble. Philippe be- 
came Captain General of the people of Ghent, leading 
them brilliantly against the citizens of Bruges, and los- 
ing his life on the battlefield in 1482. 

Likewise, as before mentioned, John of Ghent 
(Gaunt), son of Edward II and Philippe of Hainault, 
Shakespeare's "time-honored Lancaster," father of Henry 
IV, was born within the walls, a fact which renders the 
old town dear to the English. 

But the one object above all the rest which makes 
Ghent famous is the great masterpiece of the Van Eycks 
"The Adoration of the Lamb." "Incredible!" was the 
cry that broke from the lips of Lord Ronal Gower, when 
he first beheld the painting. He relates that it held him 
enthralled for two hours on this occasion and exclaims, 
"What elevation of thought!" 

All experiences of the period of Christianity are here 
pictured. What creation ; what consummate skill of ren- 
dering color; what wealth of invention and unwearied la- 
bor! Combine the coloring of the Italian, Spanish and 
Flemish schools, and one finds that the art of the Van 
Eycks outvalues them. No one knows what share in this 
great work is due to Hubert or what to John. It mat- 
ters not at all. The result is perfection. 

Of the lives of these brothers little is known save that 

130 



GHENT 

they were born, they lived and painted; that they had a 
sister Margaret of whom they were fond, and that she 
died in Ghent before the brothers went to Bruges. The 
life of Hubert is as clouded in mystery as hers. 

John, on the contrary, is an historical figure of whose 
busy life the chronicles of the time are eloquent. We 
learn that during the first period of his fame he was a 
member of the court of the Duke of Bavaria, and after- 
wards was attached to the house of Philip of Burgundy, 
who sent him to Spain to paint the portrait of Princess 
Elizabeth. Returning to Bruges after this, he married 
a young girl, the daughter of a linen merchant ; they had 
a daughter; then his wife died in 1450, and the daughter 
entered a convent at Maes Eyck, Limburg, the town 
where her father was born. 

The art of the Van Eycks followed the great mystic 
movement emanating from the Southern Netherlands. 
Judged merely superficially, it represents to us a mediae- 
val drama based upon an ecclesiastical theme, whose dif- 
ferent scenes, put together on a single panel in sequence, 
can be studied at once. 

Anachronism has been entirely disregarded; costume 
and accessories of the painters' day have been employed 
most naively, and the faces resemble contemporary por- 
traits of Flemings. 

Ancient Flemish Art, however, was not busied with, or 
mindful of dramaticism: mysticism was the viewpoint. 

131 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Introspection was systematically inculcated in the minds 
of the disciples of Ruysbroeck and Grotius, for it was 
the natural manifestation of the state of mind in an age 
that had no knowledge of the higher forms of culture. 
All existing works of the School of the Van Eycks, of 
Rogier Van der Weyden, Dirck Bouts, Memling, Van 
der Goes and Metsys exhibit this' incontrovertibly. 

Describing the "Adoration of the Lamb," Van Mander 
says : "The inner panel of this work is from the Revela- 
tion of John, where the Elders worship the Lamb. 
Round about the figure of Mary, above the table, are 
tiny angels, singing, so prettily and skillfully executed 
that one can see by their actions who sings treble, high 
'cintre,' tenor or bass. Pliny writes that painters, 
painting a hundred or a smaller number of faces, always, 
or nearly always cause some of them to look alike, being 
unable to keep pace with nature, which among a thou- 
sand, scarcely makes two alike. But in this work there 
are about three hundred and thirty faces, not one of 
which is like the other; and in which faces one perceives 
various effects, as, for instance, those of a godly serious- 
ness, of love, or devotion. Even so in the figure of 
Mary, whose lips seem to utter a few words which she is 
reading from a book. In the landscape there are many 
'outlandish' foreign trees. The simples which one can 
recognize at a glance, and the grasses in the ground are 
particularly pretty and tasteful. Also the hair of the 

132 



GHENT 

figures and in the horses' tails and manes, which one can 
almost count, are so slight and delicately touched as to 
make every artist wonder. Nay, the whole of the work 
astonishes and puzzles one. It shows a rare power of 
grouping and drawing, of intelligence, of invention, 
purity and skill. As regards the colors, blue, red and 
purple, they are indelible, and are still so beautiful that 
they appear to have been but lately put on; they sur- 
pass all other paintings." (This was written by Van 
Mander three hundred years ago. — G. W. E.) 

In Hotho's "History of the Pictorial Art of Chris- 
tianity," he thus describes "The Adoration of the Lamb." 
"On a slight elevation in a fertile plain, in the middle 
distance, stands the altar with the lamb whose blood 
flows into a golden vessel; immediately around it where 
no mortal would be worthy to abide, a host of angels, 
swinging censers like choristers, deeply absorbed in 
prayer with the emblem of the passion in their arms. Be- 
hind these, undulating grassy knolls planted with vines, 
orange, fig, and rose trees, from whose bushes, as if com- 
ing from the town, there issues from the right a serried 
rank of martyrs dressed in gorgeous raiment for the re- 
ligious solemnity; to the left, from behind the rose trees, 
a still longer procession of holy women, charming but 
humble, wearing flowers in their hair and carrying palm 
branches. In the further perspective on both sides' 
Jerusalem with its wealth of churches, from behind which 

133 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

we catch a glimpse of blue mountains. High up in the 
air the Dove, emitting rays of hallowed light. In the 
foreground around the Fountain of Life, kneeling" in a 
semicircle, are the prophets, rejoicing in the complete ful- 
fillment of their prophecy; further on the Apostles, joined 
to whom are numberless laymen of all times and nations ; 
pagan priests; primeval bards who have come hither from 
woods and rocky caverns; kings, nobles, burghers, most 
of them converted and stirred to prayer, others proudly 
questioning or desperately struggling with heavy doubts, 
the first especially in white robes and all of broad stature. 
As a contrast, Bishops, Popes, and priests, a serried mass 
of heads, scarcely nearer the solution of the sublime prob- 
lem, but more tranquil in oft repeated meditation." 

This great painting, admired and worshiped for hun- 
dreds of years, of priceless value, was carefully hidden 
away by officials of the Government during the German 
occupation of the country, and is now to be replaced in 
the former space in the sixth chapel of the Cathedral of 
St. Bavon. 

How these painters produced this wondrous piece of 
work during those troublous times when the town was 
besieged, when the "Kabbeljauws" scourged the coun- 
try side, and rapine and murder were rampant — is a mys- 
tery. There is only the written word in the monkish 
chronicles that the brothers produced their invention 
somewhere about the year 1420, when they dwelt at 

134 



GHENT 

Bruges ; that they afterwards, on the invitation of Jods- 
cus Vydt, removed to Ghent where they remained for sev- 
eral years; and that there Hubert died in 1426, followed 
shortly after by Margaret. These meager details con- 
tain all that is known of the brothers Van Eyck. 

Ghent abounds in quaint nooks and corners which 
charm the eye, and repay the inquisitive. The castle- 
like old church of St. Nicholas, now stripped of those 
clustering small houses which formerly leaned up against 
its hoary, gray seamed walls, is the very oldest temple in 
Ghent. It is in what is known as the early pointed 
style of architecture, all plain of wall and entirely un- 
adorned by ornament. 

In one of the dim aisles of the old church, under a 
small picture hanging on the fourth pillar of the north 
aisle in the great nave, is an inscription which records 
that Oliver Minsau and his wife are buried below, "Ende 
hadden tesamen een en dertich kinderen." (They had 
together one and thirty children.) There is further rec- 
ord of this family relation that when the Emperor Charles 
V entered Ghent with his retinue, this same Oliver Min- 
sau paraded his "twenty-one" sons before the Emperor, 
who "remarked the sight," and afterwards sent for and 
rewarded him. 

Documents of priceless value relating to the town and 
its people are now stored in the remarkable old castle on 
the river, known as the chateau of Gerard le Diable, of 

135 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

unsavory repute. In restoring it some years ago a great 
crypt was discovered beneath its foundations, wherein it 
is surmised, from rings in the walls, rusty chains, some 
fragments of crumbling bone, and curious engines of 
torture, hapless wretches were confined and forgotten, in 
the dim ages of long ago. 

The town is divided by canals and waterways into 
thirteen islands crossed by sixty-five bridges, and is con- 
nected with the Scheldt River by means of the Terneuzen 
canal which is sufficiently deep to admit ships and steam- 
ers of considerable burthen to dock in the town. 

It is the capital of the province of East Flanders and 
contains, excluding the large suburbs of Ledeberg, 
Ghent-Brugge, and St. Amand, one hundred and 
seventy-five thousand inhabitants. Of sixteen miles in 
circumference Ghent covers an area of six thousand six 
hundred and fifty acres. The houses are lofty and of 
picturesque architecture, and in their solid Flemish style, 
with tall gables, and fronted by fine stone quays, pre- 
sent a unique picture recalling the prosperous days when 
Ghent, though under the feoffage of the Count of Flan- 
ders and the Duke of Brabant, enjoyed such privileges 
and immunities as rendered it well nigh independent. 
Then the Great Army of Citizens, who called themselves 
the Confederacy of the "Chaperons Blancs" or White 
Hoods, could place an equipped army of eighty thousand 
men in the field almost over night. 

136 



GHENT 

Of the Guild Houses, that of the Batelliers (boatmen) 
on the Quai aux Herbes is perhaps the most famous and 
best preserved. 

In the ruins of the Abbey of St. Bavon, the Lapidary 
Collection is one of great interest. This old abbey was 
founded in the year 651 by St. Bavon, some say that it 
is of even an earlier period; at any rate, it is the oldest 
vestige of the Middle Ages existing in Belgium. 

Briefly, here was born John of Gaunt, son of Edward 
III and Philippa, and Philip the Bold of Burgundy was 
married in the chapel. Charles V battered it down in 
1540, and thus it has remained to this day. 

A great power in itself up to the period of pacification 
of 1540, Ghent sank into nothingness and decay because 
in its arrogance it could not conceive of defeat, nor profit 
by the warning of the fate of other Flemish towns. The 
workmen left it, and the green grass grew between 
the stones of the wide market place. The unused 
canals filled up, and the once crowded streets were de- 
serted. 

From its proud place as one of the chief cities of the 
province, Ghent dwindled almost to a village in popu- 
lation. When the French arrived in the time of the 
Revolution, it contained less than forty thousand people 
out of a former population of two hundred and fifty 
thousand. Ghent, which had been famous for its gloves, 
gradually and timidly became a vast nursery garden, and 

137 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

this renown it has maintained and increased to the present 
day. 

When the revival began, the merchants and weavers 
of cloth gradually returned to the town, and it was dur- 
ing the French occupation that the first of the cloth mills 
was established here to provide the soldiers of Napoleon 
with material for uniforms. 

The manufacture of cotton goods did not begin until 
the beginning of the Dutch rule 1815-30, and it did not 
assume important proportions until the Dutch yoke was 
thrown off in 1839. Then Ghent blossomed forth; new 
factories and mills were rapidly built for the fabrication 
of cotton and wool; workmen flocked to the town from 
far and near; the streets once more were thronged with 
people, and prosperity reigned. 

Then came the outbreak of the Civil War in America 
which cut off the supply of cotton, and caused the clos- 
ing of the mills, throwing thousands of skilled workers 
out of employment. An epidemic of cholera broke out 
among the people, causing great suffering and distress to 
the unfortunate populace, to whom the future seemed 
blank. The authorities, now awakened to the unsani- 
tary condition of the workman's quarter, instituted im- 
provements which resulted in better housings and cleaner 
surroundings for the great army of lace workers who 
worked at home. Factories offering better facilities were 

138 



GHENT 

built for them and the business of lace making, already 
large, was greatly increased. 

The news of this state of affairs spread to other towns, 
and with the building of works for the manufacture of 
agricultural implements and engines of various kinds, the 
population has thus grown to upwards of one hundred 
and seventy-five thousand. 

Crossing a bridge where begins the Rue de la Mon- 
naie, one comes upon a monster cannon, "Palladium" of 
Ghent, which the people have affectionately named 
"Dulle Griet," or "enraged Margaret," [Mad Meg]. 
This gun, eighteen or twenty feet long and of enormous 
bore, is said to have been given to the town by Marguerite 
of Constantinople. There are guns of this same type in 
England and Scotland, and curiously enough they are 
also called "Mons Meg" and "Roaring Meg," and in the 
the Museum of Bale M. Joseph Gamier, in his book "Ar- 
tillerie des dues de Bourgogne," speaks of others of this 
type belonging to the princes, and always called 
"Griette." 

One of these bears the arms of Charles the Bold, and 
the inscription "Jehan de Malines, 1474." "These Bur- 
gundian guns," he says, "shot great stone balls of the 
weight of four hundred pounds, and necessitated a charge 
of seventy pounds of powder." This cannon of Ghent 
is supposed to have been a trophy of victory taken by 

139 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

the Flemings from the Burgundians, but whatever its or- 
igin it is famous in the town, and generally overrun by 
the "gamins" of the neighborhood who never seem to tire 
of its attractions. 

All about are winding streets of infinite picturesque- 
ness, such, for instance, as the little Pot-d'Etain (the tin 
pot) and the Rue Abraham where one finds the old "Mont 
de Piete," or Pawn Shop, erected in the Seventeenth Cen- 
tury by the painter engineer Wenceslas Coeberger. 
"Hier Leent Men den Aermen Oock Zonder Interest." 
(Here to the poor is loaned without interest) is the in- 
scription over the door. 

The town suffered very little during the occupation by 
the Germans evidently because they never for one mo- 
ment doubted their ability to retain the whole of Belgium 
as a pawn. In consequence with the exception of the 
broken roof and window glass at the railway station, due 
to the explosion of a huge ammunition dump, there is 
now little outward evidence of the months of anguish 
spent by the townspeople. 

The great linen mill called "La Lys," employing up- 
wards of three thousand men, women and children, is 
again [1920] running on full time, and other large in- 
dustries such as timber, coal and phosphates are in full 
operation. Cattle are being returned in large numbers 
from Germany under the terms of the Armistice, and the 
farms are again under cultivation. The small, green, 

140 



frnW/Awmr 

■ Mili :/ ' ■■■■Mw '-Mam f. 



iff, 






J <§> 







GHENT 

milk wagons drawn by large dogs, and laden with milk 
cans again pass through the streets, but the cans 
are no longer of shining brass or copper, they are 
now made of tin ; brass and copper being scarce as yet, as 
the Germans seized and melted down all they could find 
of them. 

But the milk women are just as attractive as of yore, 
and are one of the "sights," especially where they are 
assembled for inspection by the police officers. These 
inspections take place at uncertain dates, so that no in- 
tending malefactor can know just when she may be dis- 
ciplined. All the carriers of milk are women, and some 
of them are quite attractive. The inspection is of course 
for the purpose of learning if all the regulations are 
properly carried out. The milk is tested with instru- 
ments, and the harness of the dogs examined so that the 
beasts may not be ill treated. Regulations call for a 
bowl for the dog to drink from and a small piece of car- 
pet for him to lie on when at rest as an essential part of 
the equipment. 

The dogs are, as a rule, well fed and fairly well treated, 
for they are valuable, being worth up to five hundred 
francs for the better breed. The law permits their use 
for draught purposes. They are called "Chiens de trait." 
In the economy of the Belgian system, dogs have no right 
to existence save as beasts of burden, at least among the 
working class. Of course, the rich class have their 

141 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

"Chiens de Maison" or "de Chasse," but for the peasant 
or shopkeeper the dog is always a worker and a patient 
obedient slave. There is a Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals, which is very alert to infractions 
against its rules, but there is rarely a case of cruelty seen 
in the courts. One can see in many of the Belgian towns 
signs upon the market places displaying the words, 
"Traitez les animaux avec douceur," and giving the rules 
and regulations against the working of dogs under a cer- 
tain size and weight. 

One is impressed by the neat dress and well-kept, con- 
tented appearance of the Belgian market women. As a 
rule they go bareheaded, but in some localities they still 
wear the really beautiful cap of Flemish lace with large 
pendent flaps on their shoulders. These caps are often 
heirlooms, and thus only worn on fete days or special 
occasions. Their hair is generally combed smoothly, and 
in stormy weather they cover the head with a small shawl 
of bright colors. They carry large heavy cotton um- 
brellas too, when necessary, and these have great horn 
handles. One does not find these on sale in the shops 
and it is something of a mystery just where they get them. 
The women are in marked contrast to the men of this 
class, who seem unkempt and slouchy in appearance. 

It is in the small "estaminets" (from "Estamento" 
Spanish) that one will get the best impression of the 
people, or in the restaurants on the market places. Here 

142 



GHENT 

one sees the typical life of the town. The "patronne" 
sits behind a kind of bar decorated with an imposing ar- 
ray of bottles of liquors of various kinds, presiding over 
the business. She has a pleasant smile and a word of 
greeting for all who enter, and a watchful eye over the 
waiters who carry the orders to her which she transmits 
to the kitchen. From noon until about half-past two 
the place will be thronged, especially on market days. 
On entering and leaving it is customary to raise one's hat 
to Madame, no one would think of omitting this rule. 
Monsieur, the husband (if there is one) is not generally 
to be seen, he is as a rule busy in the kitchen watching the 
"chef" or in the cellar looking after the wines, and these 
cellars are certainly well stocked. 

It is only after the midday meal is out of the way and 
the patrons gone about their business of the day, that 
Monsieur comes forth, and then the family sit down to 
their belated meal. They seem to enjoy themselves 
greatly. They certainly do full justice to the food, and 
they share a bottle of wine between them which they wa- 
ter well before drinking. After the meal the place is 
turned over to the "garcons," who pile up the chairs and 
wash down the floor in preparation for the dinner hour 
which is six o'clock, and lasts until eight. This is the 
invariable order of the day. 

Elsewhere in this little sketchy picture of the people, 
one will find contrasted the women of the two provinces 

143 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

of Flanders and Walloon. They are quite dissimilar 
in both appearance and character, and between them is 
great rivalry. One finds the Flemings a fair haired and 
shorter race than their Walloon sisters, and they are 
bright eyed and pink cheeked in marked contrast to the 
latter, who are dark, pale faced, and much taller of 
stature. The Flemish woman is ever energetic, the Wal- 
loon of much greater dignity of carriage and general 
deportment. 

The Walloons say that the Flemings are vulgar and 
dirty. The Flemish call the Walloons lazy and stuck 
up, and furthermore allude to them as "Mauvaise sujets," 
— this seems to be the final and most terrible arraignment 
of all, but they say no more. But the impartial observer 
finds most admirable traits in both types. Epicures 
pronounce the Walloon cooking superior to the Flemish, 
and there seems to be a basis of truth in this. 

As far as one is able to judge cursorily the condition 
of the Belgian working class in Ghent, and the other large 
manufacturing centers, is perhaps not much different from 
that in other countries, except our own. The hours of 
labor are unquestionably long, and seem to be arbitrarily 
fixed and controlled by the employer, but the text of the 
law relating to child labor in Belgium is clear and em- 
phatic : 

For instance, no child can be hired or employed in any 
factory or mill before the age of twelve. 

144 




/flavehi 
, rtu* 
"Boissons 



GHENT 

This, of course, means that labor for children begins at 
the age of twelve, and clearly explains why the children 
one meets in the streets in the evening have that pitiful 
stunted look which haunts one. The law continues — 
no child under the age of sixteen can be kept at work 
longer than twelve hours a day. Twelve hours a day in 
a cotton mill — think of it! One cannot ascertain what 
the wages of these children are, but inquiry disclosed the 
fact that the wages of the workingman is about four 
francs a day. Add to this the wages of the wife and chil- 
dren and the income is certainly sufficient for his mode 
of living. While far below the pay of the American 
artisan of the same order, the Belgian does not seem 
discontented with his lot. 

The Belgian workman is not as a rule a great meat 
eater. Soup and bread form the usual meal, and the 
bread is a coarse, full bodied product, and full of nour- 
ishment, far from the sort provided and consumed by the 
Americans. His great meal is eaten on Sunday, when he 
is at leisure, and then he will have pork or corned beef, 
and a great pitcher of "Faro" or "Lambick" to wash it 
down. 

He is not then so badly off as one might think. His 
hours of labor may be long and arduous, but he has fre- 
quent "Jours de repos." The cafe or his "cercle" pro- 
vides his amusement, and there are frequently musical 
concerts by his own "cercle" band, and an occasional par- 

H5 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

ade, at which he will wear his holiday black clothes, and 
afterwards take his wife and children to dinner at the 
cafe, where they will take their pleasures after the man- 
ner of the Flemings, — somewhat uproariously. 

Until the movement for the better housing of the work- 
man began, it is true that they were very badly off, being 
crowded together in narrow dark streets under conditions 
which quite precluded all questions of decency or sani- 
tation. Such conditions are rapidly becoming a thing 
of the past, and dwellings of a much better type are now 
provided amid clean surroundings, made possible by ad- 
mirable systems of transportation. 

In Ghent the great cooperation store called the "Voor- 
uit" is at his disposal, retailing to its members practically 
all the articles of which they have need at cost — plus 
five per cent, for expenses. 

To-day Ghent is essentially an industrial town, with 
a dense population of skilled workmen and their families 
greater than that of any other town in the Kingdom, 
numbering in 1914, as stated elsewhere, upwards of for- 
ty-five thousand, as against that of Antwerp with its forty 
thousand five hundred. 

In the great cotton and jute mills alone there were 
twenty thousand operatives. Of this number, Mr. D. 
L. Blount, the Director of the Central Information 
Bureau of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says 

146 



GHENT 

in his report, that 60 per cent, of the pre-war number 
are again at work at the machines. 

Ghent was really the cradle of the cotton spinning in- 
dustry on the continent and owes its place to the enter- 
prise and enthusiasm of Lieven Baumens who built 
and operated the first mills at Ghent. Mr. Blount finds 
that wages at the mills have been increased 150 per cent, 
and that about 90 per cent, of the workmen are unionized 
and content with the present conditions. The mills are 
reported booked well ahead with orders from Holland, 
England, France and South America. 

In the flax spinning and weaving mills about £0 per 
cent, of the pre-war number of operatives are at work, 
using a shipment of flax received from Russia. Bel- 
gium ordinarily produces a very high grade of flax, the 
greater part of which is usually exported to England. 
Mr. Blount says that in July, 1919, one hundred thou- 
sand spindles were at work in Belgium, as compared with 
three hundred and seventy-five thousand in 1913, and 
that the relative labor stability in Belgium to-day, as 
compared with the conditions prevailing in other coun- 
tries, may be attributed, aside from the remarkable ad- 
ministration of the Government, to two well founded 
causes. ("Belgium's Recovery" by D. L. Blount. J 

"First, the Belgian laborer did not receive the high 
war wages which munition workers obtained in other al- 

H7 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

lied countries during four years, and the passing of the 
war period has meant for him an increase in wages rather 
than a threatened reduction to a scale in keeping with 
the new condition. 

"Second, the high cost of living has not affected the 
laborer in Belgium in the same degree as in other coun- 
tries, owing to his natural thrift and to the remarkable 
organization of Belgian Cooperative Societies. 

"Foremost among these is the 'Vooruit' (the people) 
comprising 15,000 families who can buy from it all of 
their supplies at wholesale prices, and which owns assets 
estimated at thirty million francs. These include ten 
buildings, one of which has a theater with a seating capa- 
city of 2,500, a labor bank with deposits aggregating over 
six million francs, a bakery with a daily output of 44,000 
pounds of bread, a brewery, five retail stores, cotton and 
flax spinning mills and a weaving mill. 

"The farmers have their cooperative society, the 'Boer- 
enbond' or Peasants Union. Whereas the 'Vooruit' is 
a socialistic organization, the 'Boerenbond' is adminis- 
tered by a group of Catholic priests, with assets of about 
50 million francs, and comprises technical advisers on 
cattle raising, building and engineering, a sales and pur- 
chase committee, a central credit bank and a general in- 
surance board. 

"Before the war about three-fifths of the total area of 
Belgium (which has an area of 1 1,373 square miles, some- 

148 






GHENT 

what larger than Vermont, and a population of 7,500,- 
000, equal to that of all the New England States) was 
under cultivation, and the value of its produce averaged 
$100 per acre, a yield equalled by no other country." 

The chief commerce of Ghent is in the importation of 
cotton from the United States, and exportation of horti- 
cultural products, rabbit skins and flax. The already 
commodious harbors are being deepened and expanded, 
large modern warehouses are being built, and miles of 
track laid to connect these warehouses with trunk lines 
to France, Holland, Alsace, Saxony, Austria and Italy. 

According to report, the Belgian Government has un- 
dertaken a vast project for the reclamation of the dev- 
astated farm lands in the battle zone. The farms will be 
taken over from their impoverished owners and worked 
under the latest scientific principles and then, when pro- 
ductive, returned to them. The owners are to be paid 
five per cent, interest on the pre-war valuation of the 
property during operation by the Government, which, 
however, is prepared to purchase the land outright in the 
event owners do not desire to keep the farms. King Al- 
bert is to fix the limit of the operation of the project, 
which is designed merely to hasten, in the national inter- 
est, the complete restoration of the vast territory laid 
waste by the shellfire. 



149 



%mm 



^g^HARLES II fled to Bruges from Coiogne, arriving 
m El there on April 22, 1656, and was received and 
^■J* given shelter by the Irish Viscount Tarah, in his 
house in the Rue du Vieux Bourg. In the chronicle pre- 
served in the library, the historian describes in great de- 
tail the ceremonies which he styles "un brilliante hos- 
pitalite." 

Installed here, Charles sent for his brother James, Duke 
of York, who afterwards became King of England, and 
together they maintained a "Royal" court in the House 
of the Seven Towers, which is situated on the right hand 
side of the Rue Haute, numbers 6 and 8. Now stripped 
of all architectural ornament, it is but a large, plain, brick 
building, resembling a factory; but in the Seventeenth 
Century it was described as "a noble mansion," one of the 
many palaces with large towers which gave distinction 
to Bruges. Its name was derived from the seven tall 
slender towers which rise from its steep roof, and were 
reflected in the still waters of the canal on the side of the 
Quai des Marbriers. 

150 



BRUGES 

Charles was described by contemporary writers as "a 
tall man above two yards high, with dark brown hair, 
scarcely to be distinguished from black," and his every 
movement while in Bruges was most carefully followed 
and reported by the secret officers of the Commonwealth 
government, who sent back voluminous statements of his 
daily life. These reports are to be found in the Thurloe 
State Papers, and furnish most interesting reading to 
any one so inclined. 

In the library at Bruges is shown a large book contain- 
ing details of the royal household, together with a list 
of the members, which was kept so that the councillors 
of Bruges could apportion to the "Court," which num- 
bered upwards of sixty persons, the daily allowance of 
beer and wine. 

The English colony at Bruges at this time contained 
many noteworthy and famous names. In the chronicle 
we read that "Mr. Cairless, who sat on the tree with 
Charles Stuart [sic] after Worcester fight," was there; 
that Sir Edward Nicholas was Secretary of State; that 
Hyde, who received the Great Seal, was there with 
Rochester, Bristol, Norwich, the three Earls. That pic- 
turesque soldier of fortune, Sir James Turner, who served 
under Gustavus Adolphus, and who so persecuted the 
Scottish covenanters, was also there. He is supposed 
to have been the original in Sir Walter Scott's "Legend 
of Montrose." 

151 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

In another interesting letter, we read (under date of 
September 29, 1656, at Bruges) that "Lilly, astrologer 
of London, says that the King would be restored to the 
throne the next year, and that all the English at Bruges 
were delighted." (Thurloe State Papers.) 

But affairs were in a sad state with the court of Charles. 
There was little or no money in the royal treasury when 
he arrived at Bruges. One of the papers relates that 
"The English Court remains still at 'Bridges' (February, 
1657,) never in greater want, nor with greater expecta- 
tions of money, without which all their levies are like to 
be at a stand; for Englishmen cannot live on bread 
alone." When Don John of Austria came to see Charles, 
he promised an allowance, but this promise was soon for- 
gotten and the payments, never prompt, were discon- 
tinued. 

"The Court is in rags," says another letter, and else- 
where we read, "Hyde (the keeper of the Great Seal) 
complains that he has neither shoes nor shirt." Borth- 
wick, the Colonel who attended Charles, and who was ar- 
rested and confined in prison "under suspicion of dis- 
loyalty," wrote piteously that in three whole years he 
had not changed his clothes, and had not enough money 
to buy wood for his fire. Charles himself lacked money 
to pay for his daily food. The courtiers quarreled among 
themselves. We read that "Sir James Hamilton, the 
gentleman in waiting, being in liquor and starving for 

152 



BRUGES 

food, attacks and threatens to kill the Lord Chancellor 
Hyde, to whom he lays all his misfortune, for he will 
give him no money." Even the fencing master in tatters 
comes with his starving wife and children and supplicates 
the King. "Heaven hears the groans of the lowest crea- 
tures, and therefore, I trust that you, being a terrestrial 
deity, will not disdain my supplication." But Charles 
had nothing to give him save sympathy and fair words. 

One J. Butler, writing from Flushing in December, 
1656, who appears to have been a state agent employed 
to watch Charles, reports (Thurloe State Papers V. 645) 
"This last week one of the richest churches in Bruges was 
plundered in the night. The people of Bruges are fully 
persuaded that Charles Stewart's followers have done it. 
They spare no pains to find out the guilty, and if it hap- 
pens to light upon any of Charles Stewart's [sic] train, 
it will mightily incense the people against them. Here 
is now a company of French comedians at Bruges, who 
are very punctually attended by Charles Stuart and his 
Court, and all the ladies there. Their most solemn day 
of acting is the Lord's day. I think I may truthfully say 
that greater abominations were never practiced among 
people than at this day at Charles Stewart's [sic] court." 
(Here follow specifications which cannot well be printed 
here) — "are esteemed no sins amongst them; so I per- 
suade myself God will never prosper any of their at- 
tempts." But these accounts must be taken "cum grano 

153 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

salis," for it is the business of spies to make out a good 
case against those whom they are paid to spy upon. 

Charles Stuart was something of a sport, if we are to 
believe history, and certainly had some engaging quali- 
ties which should count in his favor and defense. In 
truth while he scandalized the burghers of Bruges and 
their ladies by the freedom of his ways, he was not dis- 
liked by the people. 

In the courtyard of the "Arquebusiers" at Bruges, I was 
shown the "allee," all straight and brick paved, where 
in company with his gentlemen, he drew the bow and 
showed his skill as an archer, and in the salon over the 
chimney piece is a fine portrait of this gay gentleman 
all berufBed and powdered, showing little if any of the 
vicissitudes under which he suffered during his stay at 
Bruges. The records of the guild of St. Sebastian con- 
tain copious references to Charles. This was a society 
of cross-bow men as well as archers, and is still in exist- 
ence. The quaint building is called the Guildhall of 
St. Sebastian, and is situated in the Rue des Carmes. It 
has a tall slender tower of brick which rises picturesquely 
over the roofs and the charming walled garden. 

In the hall, the custode will delight in showing one a 
small red morocco bound book in which is inscribed the 
names of Charles, and some others of his court. There 
is also a painting signed by John Van Meuxinxhove, de- 
picting Charles Stuart hanging the Bird of Honor, with 

154 



Old Houses in the Rue d'Flamende 



.'•Yh awS 



BRUGES 

its chain of gold about the neck of his brother, the Duke 
of York. In the visitors' book one reads under date of 
September 15, 1843, the names of Queen Victoria, Prince 
Albert, King Leopold I, and his Queen, who were made 
honorary members of St. Sebastian, and there are great 
silver cups on the mantel which were presented by Vic- 
toria in 1845 and 1893. 

Charles remained at Bruges until February, 1658, al- 
though in April of the year previous the Government of 
England was informed by their correspondent that "Yes- 
terday (April 7th) some of his servants went to Brus- 
sels to make ready for lodgings for Charles Stuart, the 
Duke of York, and the Duke of Gloucester. I do ad- 
mire (he continues) how people live here for want of 
money. Our number is not increased since my last. 
The most of them are again begging for money; and when 
any straggling persons come, we have not so much as will 
take a single man to the quarters: yet we promise our- 
selves great matters. The King will hardly live in 
Bruges any more, but he cannot remove his family and 
goods till he gets money." How he managed to live is 
a mystery, but Robinson ("Bruges, an Historical Sketch" 
— P. 291 ) relates that the King was playing at tennis (at 
Bruges) when Sir Stephen Fox came to him with the 
news — "The Devil is dead." (Cromwell died on Sep- 
tember 3, 1658.) 

In his days of prosperity following the Restoration, 

155 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Charles did not fail to remember the Society of St. Sebas- 
tian, to which he sent a gift of three thousand, six hun- 
dred florins, a fact chronicled in the archives of the Guild. 
The English Jesuits of St. Omer, more than one hun- 
dred years after the retirement of Charles and his Court 
from Bruges, came to the city of Bridges, when expelled 
from their retreat, and found refuge there in the House of 
Seven Towers. They found "nothing but naked walls 
and empty chambers ; in one room a rough table of planks 
had been set up, and the famished monks fell upon the 
three legs of roast mutton which were placed before them. 
Knives, forks and plates there were none, and a Flemish 
servant hacked the meat with his pocket knife. The 
only light came from a farthing tallow dip set on the 
table. After the feast the monks lay about on the floors 
of the empty rooms on straw sacks." (Robinson, 
"Bruges, an Historical Sketch," P. 291.) 

These old streets and byways are filled with history 
which may be traced by any one with the courage of inves- 
tigation. Bruges suffered terribly after the conquest of 
Belgium by the French. There seemed to be a mania 
for pulling down the ancient churches and halls. The 
old chapel of St. Basil disappeared. St. Donatian, of 
the days of Baldwin Bras-de-f er, was razed to the founda- 
tions and even St. Sauveur and Notre Dame were threat- 
ened : happily they survived. The old Spanish quarter, 
the Rue Espagnole, is still fairly preserved, and here a 

156 



BRUGES 

most picturesque vegetable market is held on Wednes- 
days, but the remarkable building named the "Casa 
Negra" was demolished since my last visit a couple of 
years before the great world war. 

In the Rue Cour de Gand is a curious old wooden front 
house, where a few old women were making lace (see 
picture). This is said to be the house of Hans 
Memling, and in the top of the building is the room 
where the painter is said to have painted some of his 
pictures. 

Off the quai Spinola, is a small street named the rue 
Anglaise, where the English merchants and sea rovers 
foregathered. Curiously enough, the Scotch merchants 
flocked by themselves in another street close by the Church 
of Ste. Walburge, and quite hidden away beyond the mar- 
ket place is the house called "Parijssche Halle," the 
headquarters of the French traders. It is now a cafe 
with a small theater, where plays in the Flemish tongue 
are performed. 

In the Rue Flamande is the Fourteenth Century house 
of the Guild of Genoese traders, now used by the Eng- 
lish residents as a sort of club house. Wandering along 
these silent quays and sluggish canals, where the swans 
are silently gliding, one is moved strangely by the reflec- 
tion that in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries great 
deeply laden ships of far off nations lay at these very 
quays, discharging their rich cargoes into the vaults of 

157 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

these dark, empty, silent buildings, now mainly unoc- 
cupied. 

In the golden period, "All the aforesaid realms (nam- 
ing the ports of Europe, Asia and Africa) and regions 
send their merchants with wares to Flanders, besides 
those who come from France, Poitou and Gascony, and 
from the three islands of which we know not the names of 
their kingdoms" (says Gilliodts Van Severen, in his 
"Bruges Ancienne et Moderne," P. 14) . The town had 
more than 200,000 population. Two hundred ships en- 
tered port in one day. The trade was enormous. In one 
morning's trade nearly three thousand pieces of cloth 
made by the Flemish weavers were sold. 

The great Hanseatic League, a vast commercial en- 
terprise, was governed by a citizen of Bruges, who b^re 
the title of "Comte de la Hanse." The members of this 
powerful society were the merchants who lived like 
princes in these now deserted palaces lining the quays. 

The Society of the Bardi at Bruges loaned a vast sum 
of money to Edward III, who gave as security the crown 
jewels of England. 

The shipping code of Bruges regulated all sea traffic 
under the title of the "Roles de Damme." (Gilliodts 
Van Severn, P. 14.) 

Famous in history and mellow with that bloom, that 
"vetuste" which comes with advanced age, is the Hospital 
of St. John, close to the great tower of Notre Dame and 

158 



BRUGES 

the lordly home of the "Gruuthuuse." The portion of 
the structure facing Notre Dame and that over the slug- 
gish canal is perhaps all that remains of the original 
building; all the rest of the great rambling structure 
with its impressive tower being carefully restored and 
largely rebuilt. It owes its foundation to the munifi- 
cence of Jeanne of Constantinople, who was Countess 
of Flanders. It still serves its original purpose, and is 
now in charge of the Augustinian sisterhood, most of 
whom are trained hospital nurses. The chapel dates 
from 1475, and is ascribed to the hand of Vincent de 
Roode, who was master mason. 

If one tires of the streets, then there is the fragrant 
silence of St. Sauveur, where one may contemplate in 
the choir the stalls of the Order of the Knights of the 
Golden Fleece, which was founded at Bruges. Over one 
of these stalls is the arms of Edward IV of England. 
Then there is the singular looking "Jerusalem" with its 
Holy Sepulcher, said to be an exact copy of the Savior's 
grave in Palestine. There is a very dark sort of crypt 
entered by a tunnel so low that one must fairly stoop to 
pass through it. At the end is an effigy wrapped in 
linen cerements before which a dim oil lamp flickers 
weirdly. The effect is ghastly. 

In Notre Dame is a fine marble statue of the Virgin 
and Child, the work of Michael Angelo, and here are 
the remarkable tombs of Charles the Bold and his daugh- 

159 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

ter Mary, — that "Gentle Mary," whose pathetic and un- 
timely death in 1482, yet spared her the sorrow of wit- 
nessing the tragic misfortunes of her husband, the Arch- 
duke Maximilian. 

It was Philip the Fair, son of Mary, who erected this 
exquisite tomb in 1502, which is carved in black marble 
with the recumbent figure of Mary wrought life size in 
gilded bronze with her two pet dogs at her feet. The 
figure is full of grace and charm and of a very high order 
of workmanship. Beside it is the tomb of her father, 
Charles the Bold, of much less character, the work of 
Jacques Jonghelinck, dated 1558. 

It was in Notre Dame that the Knights Crusaders of 
the order of the Golden Fleece met in the year 1468 to 
hold their eleventh assembly, to which came Edward IV, 
King of England. The choir stalls bear the arms of the 
Knights and the English King. Here may be seen in 
the "Chapel of Tombs," that of Pierre Lanchals, who was 
"Bearer of the Cup," and Lord of Exchequer to Maxi- 
milian. 

There is preserved here in the treasury a portion of 
the true cross, said to have been brought from the Holy 
Land to Bruges in the year 1380 by a Dutch merchant 
named Schouten, or Van Schouteen (it is variously 
spelled) , a native of Dordrecht, Holland. This man, 
so runs the story, while traveling in Syria with the cara- 
van, saw by chance a native secreting a small box. Not- 

160 



BRUGES 

ing well the spot, the Dutchman afterwards returned, dug 
the box out of the sand, and brought it home with him 
to Dordrecht, where began a series of such remarkable 
happenings, in the nature of miracles, that all were con- 
vinced that the object must be a part of the true cross. 
It remained in the church at Dordrecht during the life- 
time of the Dutch merchant, and when he died it was 
recorded in his will that it was to be presented to Notre 
Dame at Bruges, but this was done only after his widow, 
who soon married another merchant of the town named 
Utenhove, yielded to the latter's request. 

The Chapel of the Holy Blood, or St. Basil, to give 
it its real name, was built by Dierck of Alsace in the 
year 1 150, but was rebuilt in 1896, in the upper part and 
decorated in a somewhat inartistic manner. The stair- 
case is reached by an elaborately designed porch. In the 
museum is preserved the "Chasse" containing the vial of 
the Holy Blood. The earlier history of this relic is really 
unknown, and it is often confused with other similar 
"vials" contained in various other churches throughout 
Europe. But this one in fact was given by the Chris- 
tians at Jerusalem to Thierry d' Alsace in the twelfth 
century during the Christmas festivals of 1 148. The ac- 
count states that, "The Patriarch having displayed the 
vessel which contained it (the Holy Blood) to the people, 
divided the contents into two portions, one of which he 
poured into a small vial, the mouth of which was then 

161 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

carefully sealed, and secured with golden wire. This 
vial was then inclosed in a tube of rock crystal, closed 
at both ends with golden stoppers, to which a silver chain 
was attached. Then the Patriarch gave the tube 
to Baldwin, from whose hands Thierry d' Alsace, kneeling 
on the steps of the altar, received it with great emotion." 
(Canon Van Haecke, "Le Precieux Sang a Bruges," pages 
95, 96.) 

Thierry, however, decided that he was too sinful and 
unworthy a man to be the custode of such a holy object. 
So he summoned Brother Leonius, who accompanied the 
army of Flanders, and hanging it by the silver chain 
about the chaplain's neck bade him guard it with his life, 
and proceed to Bruges, where he arrived, accompanied 
by Thierry in the month of May, 1150. Through the 
streets of Bruges wended the procession of crusaders 
headed by Thierry and Brother Leonius, the former 
mounted upon a huge white Flemish horse led by friars, 
and bearing the relic in his uplifted right hand. Thus 
they proceeded to the Bourg, where the "Precious Relic" 
was placed on the altar of the Chapel of St. Basil, since 
known as the Chapel of the Holy Blood. It is further 
related that "after a time the contents of the vial was 
seen to be dry, but afterwards, miraculously, it became 
liquid every Friday at the hour of six in the afternoon. 
This happened up to the year 1365. Since then it has 
only liquified on one occasion, in the year 1385, when 

162 



BRUGES 

it was placed in a new crystal tube, and William, Bishop 
of Ancona, observed the relic turning more ruddy in color, 
and then some drops like newly shed blood began to 
flow within the vial." (Canon VanHaecke.) 

One of the most interesting monuments in Bruges is 
that of Breydel and Coninck in the market place, on 
which garlands of flowers are laid every summer on a cer- 
tain day in memory of what these heroes did when the 
burghers rose against the French in May, 1302. The 
figures by the sculptor Paul Devigne are of great merit. 
In the Hotel de Ville are some well executed frescoes on 
the walls of the "Grande Salle des Echevins," represent- 
ing the return from the Battle of the Golden -Spurs, that 
famous fight before Courtrai, when the courageous peas- 
antry of Flanders overthrew the "fair flower" of the 
knights of France whom Philip the Fair sent to avenge 
the blood of the Frenchmen who fell on the terrible morn- 
ing of "Bruges Matins." 

The great courtyard of the Hospital of St. John is 
charming and peaceful, with its flocks of cooing doves, 
and the interior with its long whitewashed corridors, so 
cool and restful, has much to attract one. This hos- 
pital was for a time the home of Hans Memlinc, or Mem- 
ling, who was born about 1431, and came to Bruges in the 
year 1471. He found a young woman who was willing 
to marry him in spite of his poverty. History is silent 
as to the details of his career, save that during a long ill- 

163 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

ness, he was cared for at the Hospital of St. John. He 
died there in 1494, in his sixty-third year, having painted 
a large number of pictures, only a few of which now re- 
main identified, and are to be seen in the chapter house. 

In the Place Van Eyck, washed by the greeny waters 
of the river Reye, is the bronze statue of the celebrated 
painter, erected in 1808, and on the north stands a build- 
ing in light stone which has been occupied by the Library 
for some years. In it are preserved many treasures of 
ancient MSS. and a series of works printed at Bruges 
between the years 1475 and 1484 by the famed Brugean 
printer (friend and protege of William Caxton, and of 
Louis of Bruges), Colard Mansion. The front of this 
building is of great beauty, and bears a huge sculptured 
and polychromed escutcheon, lavishly gilded, which il- 
luminates the little street. 

Not very far from the fine park, in a silent narrow 
street called the Rue Carroyeur en Noir, a small green 
door gives access to the quaint court of the Godshuis de 
Comte de Fontaine; an almshouse founded in 1636 for 
"twelve hundred soldiers, or their families." This man, 
General Paul Bernard, Comte de Fontaine, was a hero 
of note in the annals of Bruges, from the fact that to him 
the city owed its deliverance after a siege waged against 
it by the United Provinces during the wars of France 
against the Catholics of the Netherlands. In Bossuet's 
records it is stated that Conde was "thrice repulsed by 

164 



BRUGES 

the Comte de Fontaine, whose physical infirmities were 
so great that he had to be carried in a chair to the battle- 
field." (Bruges: "Histoires et Souvenirs, Ad. Du- 
clos.") This Comte was Grand Bailie of the town, and 
of the Franc. Fighter and warrior to the end of his life, 
he thus provided a retreat and shelter for those who 
needed it. 

Another "Godshuis," but much smaller, is that called 
"de Meulenaere" in the Rue Neuve de Gand, founded 
in 1613, by Jeanne de Meulenaere as "a shelter for twen- 
ty-four women of chastity and poverty." Here, before 
the outbreak of the world war, a number of old women 
were engaged in making lace, "the world forgetting, by 
the world forgot." There are countless numbers of 
these "hospices," in the town and elsewhere through- 
out Belgium, and apparently all of them are well sup- 
ported. 

In no other town is the mediaeval character so well ex- 
pressed as in Bruges. The long lines of irregular streets 
and the open spaces of the "places" on the canals, pre- 
vent any feeling of monotony, and give the charm of 
the unexpected that is akin to Venice. 

In order to experience fully the spell of Bruges, one 
should take a boat and explore the canals. Not other- 
wise can so satisfactory an idea be obtained of the re- 
markable old palaces. The delights are many, such as 
the reflections of the towers and heavy trees in the still 

165 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

waters, and the cool arches of the old stone bridges which 
afford charming refuge from the sun's rays. There is the 
old Pont des Lions, built in 1627 by Jean de Wachtere, 
with its two lions, the work of Jerome Stalpaert, still in 
place. From beneath this, one gets a delightful view of 
the city all framed in the rich dark foliage of heavy trees, 
above which are high roofs and chimneys, and the re- 
markably designed gables, while beyond one sees the 
tower and spire of St. Jacques. 

Viewed from these quiet, dark waters the mellow walls 
of the old Gruuthuus and the palace of the Franc form a 
picture not soon forgotten. At twilight one should lin- 
ger here and watch the white swans glide in the still 
water. There is a legend connected with their coming to 
Bruges which the people are fond of telling ; but whether 
true or not, their presence here in these prosaic days is a 
delightful fact. 

It is said that one Pierre Lanchals in 1488, after the 
execution of his favorite, Maximilian, was so overcome 
by remorse, that he procured a flock of swans which he 
presented to the town in his memory and commanded that 
the swans should ever afterwards be thus maintained. It 
is said that the name Lanchals signifies "long neck," and 
as a matter of fact the swan forms part of the Seigneur's 
arms. 

"Bien avant la mort de Pierre Lanchals, les £ers et 
melancholiques oiseaux avaient fait de la belle commune 

166 



BRUGES 

leur sejour de predilection. Dans le tableau de Pise oii 
Ton voit Bruges au XV e siecle, ils peuplent les fosses, 
comme de celestes gardiens immobilises das une moire 
transparente" — ("Psychologie d'une ville: Essai Sur 
Bruges Fierens" — Gevaerts.) A most charmingly de- 
signed sculptured and gilded archway over a narrow 
passageway between the "Ancien Greffe" and the Hotel 
de Ville leads from the Place du Bourg to the Pont de 
l'Ane Aveugle, from which one gains a most characteristic 
view of old Bruges. Here in the quiet waters of the 
canal are reflected the ancient gables and quaint towers 
of many a building all mellowed by time, and the glow 
of eventide brings out added beauties, and lends glamour 
to the gray old tower of the Belfry rising behind it. 

On Saturdays in the early morning the fish market 
bridge near by is fairly ablaze with brass and copper ob- 
jects; water jugs, candlesticks and various strangely, yet 
beautifully fashioned articles are arranged in most or- 
derly array for the weekly copper market, which extends 
along the Dyver and ends at a small alleyway in a med- 
ley of old garments, books, and worn out furniture, 
seemingly most attractive to the peasants, who haggle 
and argue over the debris in most amusing fashion. 

The very best place from which to enjoy the Grand' 
Place is certainly from the second story windows of the 
"Panier d'Or," a quaint hostelry opposite the old Belfry. 
This house stands in the center of a row of small houses, 

167 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

each of which has a stormy history. The Panier d'Or 
was "rebuilt," it is said in 1680, and one wonders what 
it was like before. Now the early morning hours bring 
the cumbersome market wagons filled with green vege- 
tables, while beneath each is tied a large savage looking 
black dog. The wagons are drawn by large thick legged 
willow backed Flemish horses of tremendous bulk and 
strength. 

There are many small milk carts, generally painted 
green, and lined with straw in which are large, brass 
milk cans. These carts are drawn by large dogs, har- 
nessed in twos and threes, each being driven by a woman 
or girl. They range themselves on lines laid out on the 
Square, each cart in its allotted place without disorder, 
and in and out among them walk the "gendarmes," ever 
on the watch for infractions or disputes. The scene from 
the windows of the "Panier d'Or" is amusing and filled 
with movement and color. The market remains until 
the fixed hour, when, at the sound of the bells from the 
belfry above, they pack up and depart as quickly as they 
came. Sometimes lines of black-robed priests cross the 
wide place on the way to or from the seminaries, and one 
remarks the various orders of friars and monks clad in 
black, brown or gray. 

There are countless numbers of nuns too, young and 
old, in various and singular looking coifs and cloaks. 
On some days a fine military band plays in the Kiosk near 

168 



- - 









• 



Vi:Ht ,; $ ■ 



iJElt 





BRUGES 

the statue of Pierre de Coninck and Jan Breidel, and al- 
most daily there is a marching regiment of soldiers, or a 
troop of cavalry clad in maroon and dark green, the col- 
ors of the "Guide." Often funeral processions pass 
here, with a long line of black clad men following the 
coffin on its way to the cemetery. Strangely enough, the 
wealthy Brugeois insists upon a band of music at fu- 
nerals, but the ceremonies are most decorously carried 
out. 

Perhaps the most highly colored and picturesque of 
streets is that of the "Potiers," leading to the Baudets, the 
houses of which give one an admirable idea of the fertil- 
ity of invention possessed by the early builders who cer- 
tainly understood the art of using brick to produce deco- 
ration. In the Rue des Ciseaux, which is paved with 
large uneven cobble stones, and crowded at all hours of 
the day by mobs of children, who delight in teasing and 
baiting the tourist, there will be found old houses with 
mellow brick facades, and one in particular which has a 
richly sculptured corbel with a protruding beam which 
supports the overhanging upper floors. 

In many of the streets are walls furnished with large 
iron rings, and it is not generally known that these were 
used in olden days when the city was famed for the splen- 
dor of her fetes, and the householders used to hang great 
garlands of flowers from wall to wall. In these days 
Bruges bore the name of Mary Stad : the City of Mary. 

169 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

So many of the houses have small niches in the walls in 
which are still to be seen small statues, all painted and 
gilt, of the Virgin, and sometimes, hanging beneath these, 
will be a lantern containing a lighted candle kept burn- 
ing by the householder. 

But it is the old belfry tower that ever exerts the most 
powerful fascination: again and yet again one returns 
to it. In the top of the tower is a chamber with a leaden 
floor which is a protection against the lightning. So says 
the watchman who sits there by the small window busily 
engaged in "cobbling" an old shoe. Above this chamber 
are the wondrous bells of the Carillon hanging in serried 
rows. From the small window one gets a remarkable 
view of Bruges; a veritable checker board of gables, 
spires, towers, crockets and ancient pinnacles; market 
squares and shining silvery lines of canals. "Pulcra 
sunt oppida Gandarum, Antverpia, Bruxella, Lovanum, 
Mechlinia. Sed nihil ad Brugas" Which my wag of a 
friend translated thus — "Neither Ghent, Antwerp, Brus- 
sels, Louvain or Malines has anything on Bruges." The 
shining streams are the rivers Reye, the Minnewater, the 
Yperle and the Dyver. The panorama unfolds before 
one's eyes like unto a pattern of old Mechlin lace, with 
all its intricate meshes and cunning stitches. About the 
corbels and on the window ledges, pigeons dip and swirl 
and from above the bells sound clear and sharp to the 
ear with all the clicking and complaining of the mechan- 

170 



BRUGES 

ism as the "tambour" turns obedient to the descending 
weights. 

All about under the eye stretch the wide, embossed 
green plains of Flanders ; towards the sea is Ostende, dis- 
tant about fifteen miles. Dozens of small hamlets are 
scattered about connected by long poplar lined roads. 
Nearer at hand are the ancient gates of the town : The 
Porte de Damme, The Porte des Marechaux, The Porte 
des Baudets (or Ostende) and the Porte de Ste. Croix 
with its lovely windmill. 

On the north side of the Place Van Eyck, which has a 
fine bronze statue of the great artist in distinguished 
surroundings, is a light stone building of great interest 
and beauty of construction, the upper rooms of which, 
since 1883, have been occupied by the Library, and here 
are preserved in most admirable order a collection of 
books imprinted in the town of Bruges before the year 
1500 by the [to us] comparatively unknown printer 
Colard Mansion, who nevertheless was a famous press- 
man in the Netherlands, a close friend of William Cax- 
ton, and, as well, the protege of Louis of Bruges, Lord of 
Gruuthuuse. 

The lower part of this building was formerly known 
as the "Grande Tonlieu," [collector of market taxes] and 
is remarkable for its beautifully designed entrance portal, 
said to have been the work of Peter of Luxemburg [circa 
1480], who was "collector." Over the portal is his large 

171 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

sculptured armorial escutcheon, most lavishly poly- 
chromed and gilded, bearing also the insignia of the 
Golden Fleece, and scattered above and at the side are 
other small armorial shields of various nobles of the town. 
The records relate that after 1640 the upper floor was 
used as "Weighhouse." It was restored in the year 1878. 
In the next building was the guild or lodge of the Car- 
riers [Pynders], dated 1470, and identified by the 
quaintly carved figures of the Carriers on the stone cor- 
bels. The large gray stone building at the corner of the 
Rue de l'Academie was formerly the headquarters of the 
Citizens of Bruges called "Poorters," and an associa- 
tion known as the White Bears, who were authorized by 
the town in 1417 to place the "White Bear" in a niche 
on the front of the building. The figure now in the 
niche is said to be an accurate copy of the original which 
is shown in the Archeological Museum. It is called the 
"Citizen of Bruges." Here and there in the town one 
finds the figure of a bear over doorways, and on one of 
the small bridges crossing a narrow canal, and those who 
have inquired vainly about it, may now know that it 
represents membership in the order of the White Bear. 
In the year 1719 the "Poorters Loge" was made the 
Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and in one of the 
rooms are shown the archives of the town, which may be 
perused with great profit by those interested in this most 
fascinating spot. 

172 



BRUGES 

They say that Bruges is dead. Not so. Ypres is dead 
— murdered by Germans — but Bruges lives. It can 
never die until it is razed to the soil. Its palaces are 
silent and many of them are empty, solitude broods in its 
streets, but its peaceful and serene beauty remains to us. 
There is one never to be forgotten picture which stands 
out in one's memory, that of the dimly seen tower of the 
belfry at night, viewed from the windows of the Panier 
d'Or against a soft velvety background of sky. 

The first belfry was built of wood, it is said, in the 
year 1040, and history relates that two hundred and more 
years later it was burned by an infuriated mob together 
with all the charters and documents relating to the town 
and its citizens. In 1291 the present tower was begun 
under new charters granted by the Count of Flanders. 
Since then it has had a most adventurous history. We 
read that the wings of the fagade were added in 1364, 
and that between the years 1483 and 1487 the square 
tower was carried higher above the two stories by the ad- 
dition of the "lantern," octagonal in shape. In the fol- 
lowing year a "fleche" forty-five feet in height was added 
surmounted by a statue of St. Michael. This was de- 
stroyed by lightning but was replaced in 1502 by a cop- 
per vane in the form of a lion. In 1741 this was de- 
stroyed by lightning and it was then decided not to re- 
place it. The "Halles" below were begun in 1364 and, 
after suffering many injuries by war and fire, remodeled 

173 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

in 1525, when the parallel quadrangle to the main en- 
trance was built. 

But the chief interest is in the splendid chime of bells : 
the Carillon, of which the great bell called "Le Bourdon," 
weighs 12,295 pounds and was cast for the Church of 
Notre Dame in 1680 by Melchior de Haze of Antwerp. 
[The smallest bell weighs but 12 pounds.] This bell 
was not placed in the Carillon until May 27, 1809, when 
it was swung in celebration of the treaty of peace between 
Belgium and France. It is embellished with the Arms 
of Francois de Bellencourt, Bishop of Bruges. The Car- 
illon has forty-nine bells dating from the Sixteenth Cen- 
tury, and is operated either by "tambour" mechanically, 
or by the hand of the "Carilloneur," who plays here on 
holydays and special occasions. In olden days we read 
that a bell called "Wercklok" was rung daily morning, 
noon, and night to regulate the hours of the weavers and 
the opening and closing of the bridges so that they might 
pass to and fro in orderly manner. It is said that the first 
Carillon was installed in the year 1299, and that some of 
these bells are still here. 

In a small niche over the entrance to the Belfry, for 
many centuries has stood a marble statue of the Virgin. 
Repeatedly destroyed, it has been replaced and the last 
one was erected there in September, 191 1, with impressive 
ceremony. Underneath this niche the small balcony 
with the iron railing was used up to the year 1769 for 

174 



Some Old Houses — Bruges 



ill*»rl 



WO *j 



BRUGES 

the reading of proclamations of rules and laws relating to 
the town. 

Undoubtedly the secret of the fascination of Bruges 
lies largely in her mysterious recall of a bygone day : in 
the story of the strength and abiding faith and courage 
of her citizens. The devotion of the Brugeans is ex- 
emplified in the Relic of the Precious Blood brought here 
by Thierry de Alsace on his return from the second Holy 
Crusade. Repeatedly stolen, but always returned, this 
revered relic in its crystal vase represents all that the 
people hold most sacred and precious. One cannot be- 
hold these long lines of people, rich and poor, as they 
tearfully pass before the "Chasse" containing it without 
profound emotion, be he ever so phlegmatic. The vase 
or phial containing the Holy Blood, which is said to be 
in the form of a -dark powder, is inclosed in a cylinder 
of crystal and this is kept in a most elaborately chased 
casket of gold encrusted with large "ca*bochon" rubies and 
emeralds, a masterpiece of the goldsmith's art. 

During the celebration of the "Liquifaction" in May 
of each year, thousands of pilgrims from far and near 
throng the streets. The whole town is filled with stores 
of treasure impossible to specify in a ^single chapter. 
One can only touch upon the wealth of Bruges in the 
most haphazard and unsatisfactory manner, and no one 
realizes this more than the present writer in setting down 
these random and inadequate notes. 

175 



ftourirai 



^g^ALLED "Doornyk" in the Flemisn tongue, this is 
SB! one of the most ancient (and certainly the most 
^ L ' unknown to the tourist) towns in Belgium. One 
can hardly imagine this dull, sleepy looking, commercial 
town, with its many mills, smoking tall chimneys, and 
barge lined docks, to have been one of the great meeting 
places of the Knights Crusaders; "The Ci vitas Nervio- 
rum" of Caesar, afterwards named "Turnacum"; and in 
the dim period of the Fifth Century, the seat of the Mero- 
vingian kings. The copper and brass workers of Dinant, 
driven away from their Mosan retreats (see chapter on 
Dinant) found refuge and protection here on the banks 
of the Scheldt River, and set up their workshops beside 
those of the tapestry, faience workers, and cloth weavers. 
At present one of the chief industries is the weaving of 
the so-called "Brussels" carpet. The town is also one of 
the headquarters of the Borinage coal mines, and the 
quays on the river bank are lined with coal barges. 

When Napoleon sought a symbol for his imperial 
throne, he found it in the golden bees of the Merovingian 
emperors' treasury, in Tournai, "The most ancient town 

176 



TOURNAI 

in the northern side of the Alps." Here lived the Mer- 
ovingian rulers: here Wolsey was created Bishop by 
Henry VIII, and held the "see" for five years; here 
France ruled from Philip Augustus to Francis I; then 
Henry Tudor, who was followed by Charles V. Fon- 
tenoy made the town vassal to Maria Theresa and the 
Emperor Joseph until France reconquered it under the 
Republic and the Empire. It was transferred to the Low 
Countries in 1815. The soil is filled with buried treasure 
from the time of Julius Caesar. In 1653 the hoarded 
wealth of Childeric was accidentally uncovered; great 
boxes of money, jewelry and ancient arms and armor. 

The tall belfry on the Square is said to be the most 
venerable in Belgium, and contains a peal of three bells, 
the most famous of which is that named "Banclocque." 
The inscription reads, — 

"Bancloque suis de commune nomme 
Car pour effroy de guerre suis sonnee." 

Before the tower is the statue of Christine de Lalaing, 
Princess d'Epinoy, who in 1581, during the absence of 
her husband, took command of his troops, and held Far- 
nese and the Spaniards at bay for more than eight weeks. 
In spite of her heroism Tournai fell, and, her heart 
broken, she died in her refuge in Antwerp less than six 
months after. 

The great five towered romanesque cathedral is the 

177 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

glory of Tournai. It is not all romanesque, however, for 
the transept is most beautiful Thirteenth Century French 
Gothic. The characteristic of this wondrous building is 
the grouping of the five great towers at the crossing of 
choir and nave. Apparently they unite two separate and 
distinct church edifices. This peculiarity is remarked in 
the cathedrals of Bamberg, Limburg and Laon, but in les- 
ser degree. 

It would require the descriptive power of a poet to do 
justice to the interior of this^ great cathedral. Of great 
nobility of conception, and f>eauty in every proportion, 
this magnificent monument is quite typical of the great 
and bygone importance of the town. Its vast portal is 
encrusted (literally) with stone carving of a high order 
of workmanship by the hands of the sculptors of Tournai, 
who were the most artistic and skillful in the Nether- 
lands. High authorities have pointed out the influence 
of the work of these craftsmen upon the Flemish painters 
from the two Van Eycks down. All the great skill of 
these master craftsmen was lavished upon the great fig- 
ures in the portal of the cathedral, which represent most 
faithfully saints and martyrs, Merovingian kings, bish- 
ops, prophets, devils and lastly the effigies of old Father 
Adam and Mother Eve. 

Entering by the small panelled door in the side of the 
huge oaken, iron bound portal, one is at once in the great 
dim space of the nave, severely and somberly romanesque. 

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TOURNAI 

Passing from all this "magnificent chastity" of architec- 
ture, and entering the choir, the contrast is most startling. 
The great nave has held one enthralled by its dignity and 
its lofty self restraint, and passing into the choir one is 
plunged, there is no better word for it, into a great and 
lofty chamber all blazing with colored light, from the tall 
windows filled with painted glass, which are separated 
from each other only by the slenderest, reed-like, pillars 
or piers. These windows are well worth a journey to 
see and study. Here in place of the dim vast space of 
the nave is a beautifully designed triforium, and there 
are giantesque clerestories to complete the great solem- 
nity which quite overcomes one. 

The western portion of the structure is most impressive 
in its nakedness of embellishment, and architects are 
startled at the boldness of the builder of the piers, bent 
and flowing in curves, one in, the other out, both seeming 
too frail for their part in supporting the roof. 

In the nave, the aisles are well nigh obscured in the 
shadows, the windows being too high and too narrow to 
fully light the spaces, but lending great dignity to the 
design, and lighting dimly now and then the great pillars 
and buttresses in a manner to delight a painter. 

Margaret of Parma wrote of Tournai, "I have never 
seen a more wonderful sight than the 'Grande Place.' 
On the balconies of the houses were all the ladies who 
formed a most charming picture, for they were all most 

179 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

magnificently arrayed in silks, and fine furs, and most of 
these ladies seemed beautiful. Also the streets were 
filled with great crowds of people. I have never before 
seen so many, and also at the windows ; even up as high 
as the attics, and then when it came on to rain, they were 
not dismayed but remained as though they cared not for 
the wetting." 

Margaret of Austria who lived here quite captivated 
the people while educating her son Charles V. Margaret 
of Parma, who was born at Audenaerde of a beautiful but 
humble Flemish mother, became Regent of the Nether- 
lands during a most critical and disturbed period. 
These two women were of great strength of character and 
governed Belgium with a force that was at once benefi- 
cent and discreet. Of Isabella of Spain, Cardinal Benti- 
voglio, writing of her when she was of the age of forty- 
six, says, "She had a singularly clear intellect, united 
with courage. She had moreover a keen sense of humor. 
She was also a beautiful woman and had great grace of 
movement. Rubens and Coello painted her as she was, 
and showed the majesty of her bearing, the splendor of 
her eyes, and the wondrous whiteness of her skin." 

On emerging from the station the first impression of 
the town is rather discouraging. Little of antiquity re- 
mains to attract the antiquarian or the tourist in search of 
the picturesque. The skyline, dominated by the impos- 
ing towers of the cathedral is inviting, but the wide un- 

180 



TOURNAI 

clean streets lined with stolid, very modern looking 
houses seem devoid of interest. There is no great tow- 
ered gateway for entrance; no old vine clad ramparts 
evoking recollections of tales famous in military annals 
are to be seen. They disappeared long ago. The large 
and almost deserted boulevards mark the ancient "en- 
ceinte," commanded by Louis XIV, and built by Vauban. 

The rather gloomy streets running from the station 
open upon the Square where the great cathedral with its 
fine towers, the "Chong Clotiers" in the local patois, 
forms the real center of the town. In configuration 
Tournai has not changed since the Middle Ages. The 
Scheldt River traversing the town from the southeast to 
the northwest, divides it into two almost equal parts. 
On the right one debarks, and it is on the left side that the 
city proper is situated. Here is the cathedral, the bel- 
fry, the Hotel de Ville and the museum. There is not 
a remaining vestige of the ancient gates. The hoary old 
"Pont des Trous," which in the Fifteenth Century marked 
the extreme limit of the battlements, now is well nigh in 
ruins and forbidden to passers, its roadway full of holes 
and pitfalls. 

In searching for the ancient houses one finds at the 
Square formed by the rues Marvis and Croisiers at the 
angle, a group of Sixteenth Century houses which retain 
much of their old time character. There are four of these 
— Nos. 43, 41 and 39 — in this order, and they are of rare 

181 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

type, with overhanging upper stories. The Chapel of 
the Crusaders is a little farther along the street, in the 
"ogival" style, and dates from the Fifteenth Century, 
with a portal of fine character, bearing above it the cross 
of the order. It is incorporated in the Cavalry Caserne. 

Passing the gloomy looking Church of St. Jean, 
crowned with a remarkable "fleches," the work of the 
Tournaisian craftsmen of the Fourteenth Century, one 
comes upon perhaps the most picturesque object in the 
whole town; the remains of the third "enceinte," which 
was built in the Thirteenth Century, and consists of two 
massive ruined towers connected by a small section of 
wall behind a shallow moat, the whole draped exquisitely 
in ivy. Here was the "Marvis" gate through which Phil- 
ippe the Handsome, Louis XIV of France, and Charles 
of Spain entered Tournai to the echoes of triumphant 
salvos of cannon, and the acclaim of the corteges of 
princes, the account of which is chronicled by an eye wit- 
ness, one Calvete de Estrella. (Boziere, A. F. J. "Tour- 
nai — Ancienne et Moderne," 1864.) 

Another monument of ancient Tournai, and one of the 
most important and impressive, is the massive church and 
tower of Saint-Brice. Approaching it from the rear, one 
is interested at once in the three great gloomy looking 
buildings joined together and composing the body of the 
church, above which rises a heavy, square embuttressed 
tower, in which is a large clock of four faces, and sur- 

182 



TOURNAI 

mounted by a gallery containing the bells, the whole 
capped by a rounded off roof in the Flemish style. This 
may sound somewhat "bizarre," but it is not at all so; 
on the contrary, it could not well be more impressive or 
dignified in appearance. The construction dates from 
the Twelfth Century. Its interior is in no way disap- 
pointing, and is more than remarkable for the extraor- 
dinary heaviness of the supporting columns at the en- 
trance to the choir. A local architect explained that 
originally these supported a massive Roman tower, of 
which not a vestige remains. 

In the choir is a "tombale" of copper consecrated to 
the memory of Jean de Dour, by his wife, Catherine 
d'Harlebecque, and a marble monument to Jacques Mar- 
tin de Polinchove, President of Parliament of Tournai 
under Louis XIV. 

In the treasury are a large number of sacerdotal orna- 
ments of great richness and value, and curiously un- 
known to antiquarians. For instance one was shown an 
"Agrafe" by the custode, with an inscription showing it 
to be from the treasure of Childeric I. This object was 
discovered at a depth of eight feet beneath the terrace 
before the Church, and a few feet away the workmen 
came upon a vault containing the large collection of arms, 
armor, and jewelry which are now shown here under the 
name of "The Treasure of King Childeric I," (Chil- 
deric died a. d. 481 ) , more than one hundred golden coins 

183 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

of the Byzantian Emperors, hundreds of small golden fig- 
ures representing bees, and a golden ring bearing the 
figure of a man in armor, horsed, and carrying a lance, 
with the inscription "Childerici Regis." These precious 
objects when discovered were brought to Leopold Wil- 
liam of Austria, then Governor-general of the Nether- 
lands, who sent them to the Emperor Leopold. The lat- 
ter gave them to Louis XIV in 1664. Afterwards they 
were deposited in the Bibliothecque Royale, from 
which they were stolen in 1831. The thieves, em- 
barrassed by the great value of the treasure, and not 
knowing what else to do with it, threw it into the Seine, 
taking the precaution, however, to mark carefully the ex- 
act spot where it lay. Later on, one of the rascals, lying 
at the point of death in a hospital, confessed the deed to a 
sister of mercy, and she lost no time in communicating 
with the authorities. The treasure was thus recovered, 
so says the story, but it is silent as to what became of the 
other rogues, or whether they were ever apprehended. 
Some of the coins are now placed in the Numismatic Cab- 
inet at the Bibliothecque Nationale. As already related 
the golden bees were appropriated by Napoleon I as 
insignia to decorate his throne and the Imperial mantle. 

Another matchless piece of treasure is the so-called 
"Chasse" of Saint Eleuthere in the Cathedral, the most 
famous among the specimens of "Orfevrerie" of the 
Middle Ages. It is in the form of a "Sarcophagi," with 

184 



TOURNAI 

pointed top and four large seated figures of bishops and 
saints, together with a number of smaller ones; with 
three "pommes" richly chased and enameled, all in heavy 
silver gilt. At the extremity is the figure of Christ as- 
sisted by Saint Eleuthere which for perfection of work- 
manship are said to be unrivaled. The name of the mas- 
ter workman who created this marvel is unknown. 

It would require a volume in which to even catalog the 
treasures of this cathedral. 

The ancient belfry, witness of the centuries, occupies 
the apex of a triangle formed by the Grand' Place, and 
is an object of great care and affection by the citizens. 
The campanile is surmounted by four "clocheton" tow- 
ers, bearing statues of warriors. There is a stone bal- 
cony, above which is the lantern crowned by a gilded cop- 
per dragon, in "Dinanderie" (see chapter on Dinant) . 
After a climb of two hundred and fifty-six steps, one 
reaches the bell chamber, and here is a watchman whose 
duty it is to watch out for fires and give alarm, by day 
with a flag; by night with a lantern. It is not stated 
who watches the watchman, however. 

In the belfry is a melodious "Carillon" of very mod- 
ern, but excellent workmanship. All of the great bells, 
however, are very old. Of these the "Banclocque," cast 
in 1392, is the largest, and calls the people to arms in 
time of danger. The second is the "Timbre" of the same 
date, which sounds the hour, and also serves as fire bell. 

185 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

The third is the "Vigneron," and now as in bygone times 
serves to call the workmen to their labors. 

The curious configuration of the Grand' Place is said 
by historians to be due to the union of two Roman roads. 
To the left the alignments of quaint buildings with pic- 
turesque roofs and gables form a worthy frame for the 
Cloth Hall, now converted into a museum of painting and 
sculpture, and at the base of the angle is the old Church of 
Saint Quentin, one of the most ancient and remarkable 
structures in the town. The bronze statue of the Prin- 
cess of Epinoy, Christine de Lalaing, erected in the cen- 
ter of the place, perpetuates the memory of this heroine, 
who for two months, in 1581, commanded the forces, and 
held in check the Spanish troops, who were under Farnese, 
in the absence of her husband, the governor of Tournai. 
This remarkable woman gathered together the women 
and young girls of the town and brought them to the ram- 
parts where at the side of the harassed soldiers they 
fought "twenty-three battles, and murderous assaults." 
Christine left the town on horseback at the head of her 
garrison, battle flags flying, but alas, in the fall of the 
town, she "received a fatal wound," which a short time 
afterwards proved mortal, and she died as already related 
at Antwerp where she had been taken on the ninth of 
June, 1582. The statue is the very worthy work of a 
native of Tournai, A. Dutrieux. The Princess is repre- 

186 



TOURNAI 

sen ted in a complete suit of armor, battle ax in hand, lead- 
ing her people against the assailants. 

Tournai has upwards of forty thousand inhabitants, 
and is perhaps, cleaner than the other towns of the Borin- 
age. It is now entirely a manufacturing town in which 
"Brussels" carpet is made. 

There are extensive quays, lined with coal barges, and 
all planted with fine trees, but the present writer, filled 
with the lively recollections of experiences at the preten- 
tious hotel, and quality of food and coffee, left it without 
regret or any desire to return to it. 

This is the story of Mary of Burgundy and a very 
moving one it is. "A mere girl : being less than twenty- 
one when the seneschel brought to her the news of acces- 
sion, she dropped the bobbins, and laying aside the 
cushion on which she was embroidering a collar of lace, 
she knelt down and lifting her eyes meekly to heaven 
prayed that she might have grace to do her duty. Then 
she joined the procession of maidens of the town who 
were wending their way barefooted, carrying lighted can- 
dles. She proceeded with them to the cathedral. c Elle 
estoit tres honnete dame et bien aimee de ces sujets, et lui 
portoient plus de reverence et de crainte qu'a son Mary.' : 
So runs the chronicle which continues (roughly trans- 
lated), "Thus she conquered the Flemish people. She 
much resembled her father. Her face was long but of a 

i8 7 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

clear white, with pink cheeks and a tender sensitive 
mouth. She was strong and healthy of body, and her 
mien was virile, grave, and natural, without any trace of 
bashfulness. She was also very studious and fond of 
reading history that she might the better serve her coun- 
try. 

This young Duchess was also famed as a horsewoman, 
and, fond of the chase, she rode out one morning over the 
marshes of Oostcamp, where her horse stumbling into a 
hole, threw her heavily, so that she was brought home 
sadly injured, and in a few days she died, surrounded by 
priests and holding to her bosom the precious relic. 

Before she passed away, she said to the Knights of the 
Golden Fleece who stood about her bed, — "Farewell, my 
Knights, who have ever in time of need been at my side. 
Farewell, Adolphe de Ravestein, thou noble heart. 
Farewell, Prince of Orange, Messires of Beveren, Gruu- 
thuus, and Fiennes. Farewell, my spouse, First Duke of 
Maximilian, my well beloved. Oh God, take Thou pity 
on me, and now receive my soul." 



188 



<$M\M 



^g^OMING from the peaceful green plains of Flan- 
S ij ders, the transition to this region of countless high 
^fcJ* factory chimneys belching forth dense black smoke 
making a continuous haze over the cold monotonous land- 
scape, is depressing. All here is blackened and ugly; the 
ground covered with coal dust and heaps of slag, and 
the ear is tormented and deafened by the metallic and vi- 
brant sounds of clanging machinery and the dull insistent 
booming of the steam hammers. On all sides is the sad 
gray color imparted by smoke and soot to the yellow 
stucco walls and tiled roofs of the clustered houses of 
the operatives, who spend their lives beneath the over- 
powering heights of the tall iron retorts, whose tops are 
ruddy with belching rosy flame and sinister fantastic 
mushroom shaped clouds of brown smoke. 

The only relief to the eye in all this grayness and gloom 
is the orange gleam from the great furnaces piercing the 
murk. One ceases to care whether the mills are produc- 
ing iron or steel. The toil of the operatives is much the 
same to them, and there seems to be little of the joy of 
effort in all this transformation of matter. The coal 

189 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

torn from the bowels of the earth comes up steadily in 
long lines of small iron wagons to the groaning and 
creaking of windlasses, and the dark walls and heights of 
the great buildings rise like black and gloomy fortresses 
clad in wreaths of smoke. Great towers filled with as- 
cending lines of buckets, hoisting and discharging their 
contents in chorus of thundering sound like unto a titanic 
orchestra, fill one with awe. Through the small windows 
blackened by soot great wheels whirl untiringly, now 
slowly, now swiftly, and here and there one sees shining 
lines of belting running with such swiftness as to appear 
motionless. The mouths of the furnaces open con- 
stantly, gluttonous for fuel, and in the ruddy beams pass 
and repass lines of figures, their gleaming, sweaty, half- 
naked bodies standing out in bronzed relief against the 
flames. All about are luminous contrasts of light and 
shade that would have entranced Rubens, who alone 
could have adequately rendered the scene. 

Elsewhere great vats of liquid copper vomit forth vio- 
let and green flames that lick the gloom in fantastic pat- 
terns. Each of the mouths of the converters is a flam- 
ing crater of molten metal that trembles and bubbles, 
exhaling ferociously flames of sulphuric gases which de- 
scend in invisible showers of metal particles over the re- 
gion blackened and coated by years of the deposit. High 
above against the lurid sky gigantic and complicated 
cranes travel swiftly and agilely, while from their elec- 

190 



COUILLET 

trical motors, clinging to them like huge black wrens, 
spring pale violet and strange deadly green sparks, sput- 
tering fantastically like giant fireworks. 

Farther on an immense black pile formed by several 
cylinders with conical tops all befringed with slender dis- 
torted pipes, sends forth lightning streams of pale orange 
and blue, with an accompaniment of thunderous roars of 
sound, heard above the insistent noise of pounding ma- 
chinery. This inferno of fire and smoke and noise is sud- 
denly accompanied by a torrential silvery rain which de- 
scends from the heavens and beats upon the sooty roofs as 
if to wash away the man-made stains which so terribly 
disfigure the countryside. 

The spectacle of molten metal fascinates one : It flows 
from the furnaces in cascades of fire broken by diamond- 
like gleaming sparks. One ceases by degrees to think of 
it as metal, rather it seems like a torrent of crystalline 
water churning into foam at the edges of the cauldrons, 
from which it is dipped in scoops by great silently mov- 
ing cranes, and emptied in sparkling cascades into strange 
looking receptacles. All about in the sulphurous smoke 
move the workmen like shadows, all armed with forks 
and shovels, who rush hither and yon seemingly without 
purpose, hauling at the flat pans, that spread over the 
floor. It resembles nothing more than the embodiment 
of some frightful scene born in the mind of Dante. 

In another vast structure before lines of forges are regi- 

191 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

ments of men tall and brawny, bare armed, and with 
sweaty gleaming torsos. These operate the crushing 
hammers, directing the blows of the great metal blocks 
upon the anvils containing huge bars of dull orange and 
pink steel held in place by the human-like cranes. The 
men seem Plutonic heroes thus absorbed in their occupa- 
tion amid the ceaseless thunder of the metallic vibrations 
produced by the blows of the giant hammers upon the an- 
vils ; the wreaths of smoke from the forges, and the cease- 
less whir and whirl of the gleaming belts. 

On the day when the present writer visited this region 
the atmosphere was dense, oppression-laden, with mist 
clean and white in the morning, but black and opaque 
after midday. At nightfall it snowed, for it was in De- 
cember, and the ground was covered with pure white 
which contrasted with the somber darkness and the thick 
clouds of overhanging smoke. Watching the actions of 
the people in the streets, one got a good idea of their lives. 
The streets lined with the houses of the operators are 
two in number; silent and deserted during the day, they 
become crowded and noisy when the raucous sound of the 
whistle gives the signal for the "shift" to go out, and from 
the mills issue the pushing dark crowd of those upon 
whom rests the dictum, "In the sweat of thy brow shalt 
thou eat bread." Their women and children await them 
at the doors of the small houses none of which are better 
than their neighbors. Into these homes, such as they are, 

192 










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COUILLET 

pass these men — these workers in metal, and delvers in 
the mines for the frugal meal and the hours of rest. 
There they live, there they love, there they die in the 
grasp of comparative poverty, never entirely out of sight 
and sound of the gleaming fires, the vast volumes of sul- 
phurous smoke, and the noise of the giant hammers upon 
the iron reddened by the forges. 

In a little pamphlet issued by the "office Central d'ln- 
formation, Brussels," written by Mms. G. D. Perrier and 
G. Montegne, is a resume of the systematic destruction 
to which certain of the industries of Belgium was sub- 
jected by the Germans. For instance, at the works of 
"La Providence," at Charleroi, which from the outside 
do not seem to have suffered to any great extent, they 
find that nothing but the shell remains. All of the blast 
furnaces are destroyed, and the twelve steam boilers and 
the steam blowing machines, without which work could 
not be resumed, were either removed or destroyed. 
These blast furnaces gave a monthly output when in 
operation of 26,500 tons of pig iron. 

At Thy-le-Chateau, the works are merely heaps of 
ruin. "Indeed, the Germans appear here to have em- 
ployed every refinement of which their diabolic ingenuity 
was capable, going so far as to dynamite engines of 1200 
to 1800 horsepower. This metal works was a model 
'family affair,' employing only local labor and utilizing 
surplus profits in the improvement of its means of produc- 

193 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

tion. While capital account stood at only 6,000,000 
francs, the company's buildings alone were worth 35,- 
000,000 francs. The monthly output was 15,000 tons of 
small steel products. Competition in this line being par- 
ticularly distasteful to the German manufacturers, it 
would seem as if Lieutenant Kellerman, Chief of the 
'Rohma' Department, with headquarters at 'La Provi- 
dence,' had received particular instructions after April, 
1917, forever to eliminate any possibility of future com- 
petition on the part of the Thy-le-Chateau Company. 
Up to April, 1917, the system of requisition (by the Ger- 
mans) had been the method usually employed but after 
that date, America's entry into the lists having definitely 
sealed the German downfall, systematic destruction was 
brought into play. With a thoroughness worthy of a 
better cause, the Germans had erected a special depart- 
ment for the conduct of their organized pillage. This 
was the 'Rohma,' a name coined from the initials of the 
department in question. This organization listed and 
appraised the machinery in all the occupied factories, 
numbering and describing each machine. The catalogue 
thus compiled was distributed among German manufac- 
turers who, to obtain any desired implement, had only to 
quote its initials and number: for instance F. Z. 4261. 
The letters indicated the name and location of the factory 
whence it could be removed." 

"The 'Wumba,' another similar organization, was set 

194 



COUILLET 

up as soon as the Germans had got into their stride, with 
the object of making a methodical survey of the economic 
resources in the occupied territory. 

"These inventories were upon cards of different colors, 
and included minute particulars of the machinery and 
stocks of all the factories. A special department of the 
German General Government at Brussels, the 'Abbau- 
Konzern,' (Demolition Directorate) was in charge of 
this branch of enquiry, a practical and logical develop- 
ment of the politico-economic espionage which they had 
already brought to such a high degree of perfection in 
Belgium before the war. It has for instance been estab- 
lished that one German domiciled for nearly twenty 
years in Brussels as representative of German metal 
firms, utilized this peaceful avocation as cover for under- 
handed activities on behalf of his Government. Be- 
tween the 16th and 20th of July, 1914 (that is, in the last 
pre-war fortnight) he visited industrial Northern France 
between Valenciennes and Longwy, ostensibly offering 
his goods to all the more important metal works, but in 
reality having a last 'spy' around before the storm was 
unloosed." 

Provided with the inventory alluded to, the "Wumba" 
(Waffen und Munitions Beschaffungs Amt) an affilia- 
tion of the Berlin Imperial War Ministry, became the dis- 
penser of the Belgian National Industrial Wealth, wait- 
ing on the requirements of those German firms who were 

195 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

on the lookout for machinery and accessories at low cost. 
Matters were so worked that the Government apparently 
had no interest in the combination, but it is hardly neces- 
sary to add that the Imperial Authority never failed to 
take its own share of profit resulting from this wholesale 
pillage of occupied territory. For the execution of the 
orders thus placed was formed "a trust of five demolish- 
ing firms," as follows: Gute Hoffnungshutte, of Ober- 
hausen; Hein Lehmann, of Dusseldorf; Hilgers, of 
Rheinbrohl; Jucho, of Dortmund; Breest, of Berlin. 
This was the official association entrusted with "bleeding 
white" the unfortunate invaded provinces. 

"In collaboration with 'Wumba' and the B. D. K. M. 
(a delegate of the War Ministry) the Abbau Konzern 
had detailed descriptions of all the larger foundries in the 
occupied districts drawn by its expert engineers. On 3rd 
of November, 1917, the German Coal Owners Union was 
advised by circular that it was already possible to under- 
take the dismantling and despatch of all that machinery, 
boilers, piping, and buildings, as well as of all industrial 
stock in trade in occupied territory, which could be util- 
ized elsewhere, and information was requested anent the 
German owners' requirements in these lines. Scarcely 
necessary is it to add that the demands of the German 
Coal Industry were such as to give ample scope to the ac- 
tivities of the Trust. Maps of the occupied territories 
were divided into zones of different colors : blue for Lille 

196 



COUILLET 

and Douai, Green for Mabeuge, yellow for Longwy and 
Briey. Drawings, blueprints and photos of the factories 
were assembled in card board covers, and sites of works 
selected for demolition carefully marked on section maps 
according to zone color, plus an initial letter and classi- 
fication number. The same procedure was followed for 
the industrial districts of Belgium. This (extract from 
the Summary) will suffice to give some small idea of the 
spirit of rapine and destructiveness with which were im- 
bued the German operations in occupied French and 
Belgian territory. . . . To give some idea of the magni- 
tude of the damage done to Belgian industry, the total 
amount is estimated at the formidable sum of six thou- 
sand seven hundred and fifty million francs. And this 
sum does not include unemployment grants and other 
similar unproductive expenditure incurred during the pe- 
riod of occupation." 



197 



%W 



^fek ESTLED in a luxuriant grove of verdure on the 
II banks of the Meuse lies Liege, which for twelve 
*^^ centuries was under the stormy rule of fifty-eight 
Prince Bishops. Disaster, fire, plague and famine all 
took toll of this strange old town. Those who know 
Scott's "Quentin Durward" enjoy here the scenes where 
the gallant Durward found such adventures, and where 
the wild Boar of the Ardennes and his robber crew held 
their orgies. 

After the death of Maximilian of Bavaria, Liege, 
which in the Sixteenth Century had a population of 
nearly one hundred thousand, dwindled away to almost 
a village, and it passed successively into the hands of 
the House of Austria, and then to France. (1794.) In 
1850 Liege had few more than 80,000 inhabitants, but the 
regime of peace and prosperity it enjoyed up to the out- 
break of the war in 1914, enabled it to develop, remark- 
ably. It was called the Birmingham of Belgium. Sit- 
uated at the junction of the rivers Ourthe and Meuse, 
Liege has nothing of the smoky, dingy appearance of a 
factory town. It is a compound of the ancient and the 

198 



LIEGE 

modern, and in the streets one passes continually from 
the atmosphere of the Middle Ages to that of the Twen- 
tieth Century. 

Called "Luik" by the Flemings, Liege, the capital of 
the Walloon district, is on an island, reached by five 
bridges from each bank of the river. On the right bank 
is situated the factories and the houses of the operatives in 
the quarter known as the "Outremeuse." Guicciardini 
describes the Walloons as "An active, intelligent race" — 
("Cives Leodiceuses sunt ingeniosi, sagaces et ad quidvis 
audendum prompti"). Their bravery has been praised 
by Schiller in "Wallenstein." 

The Prince Bishoprics (alluded to elsewhere in this 
volume) of the Fourteenth Century, of Tongres, Maas- 
tricht and Franchimont, were transplanted to Liege, and 
retained their power and sovereignty until the French 
Revolution in 1794. The town is famed not only as a 
great manufacturing center, but no less as the seat of a 
university of renown of which the Walloons are intensely 
proud. Bordered on the south by the "Hautes Fagnes," 
it extends westward to the borders of Brabant, its eastern 
limit being Aix, which historically is a Walloon city. 
On the north it reaches the old Duchy of Limburg. Ac- 
cording to some authorities the name Walloon is derived 
from the word "Welch." (Teuton, civilized.) 

In character this region differs entirely from the rest 
of Belgium. Hereabouts is scenery more rugged even 

199 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

than that found in any part of savage Ardennes. It also 
occupies a much higher elevation, and although the great 
increase of population has resulted in a diminution of the 
wooded area, a visit to the so-called "Hautes Fagnes," or 
the remarkable forest of "Hertogenwald," will give one 
an idea of what it must have been in the days of the 
Prince Bishops. (Note. — These forests have been en- 
tirely and wantonly destroyed by German tree specialists 
sent here for the purpose during the war. See Report of 
Forestry Commission, in chapter of Dinant.) 

The whole valley of the Vesdre is of the most savage 
and picturesque character; the turbulent small stream 
taking its course through dark chasms in the overhanging 
rocks and mountain range, which is pierced by twenty- 
five tunnels for the passage of the railway. In this re- 
gion formerly abounded the forests of magnificent oaks, 
especially behind the Chaud Fontaine and around the 
Chateau of Argentean near Herstal, where the great 
Charlemagne was borne. 

This Chateau of Argentean, formerly the residence of 
the Counts Mercy, one of whom was ambassador of Maria 
Theresa to Marie Antoinette, is situated near the border 
of that troublesome, neutralized territory known as Mor- 
esnet (now taken over by Belgium) which consists mainly 
of a mountain of zinc three miles in length and a mile and 
a half broad. 

The region of Hautes Fagnes (Fagnes signifying tree- 

200 



LIEGE 

clad, elevated plateau) is the highest between the basins 
of the Rhine, Meuse and Moselle. The people here- 
abouts are steeped in superstition, and believe absolutely 
in the existence of "the little people" as they call the 
fairies or sprites who dwell in the woods and fastnesses. 
These little people are benevolent in character and are 
said to flock to the villages in the night to perform kindly 
offices, and help the people to accomplish tasks which 
would otherwise be difficult if not impossible. The 
Sprites are locally called "Sottais." It is the popular be- 
lief that the souls of the departed live on in the form of 
great oaks and chestnuts. On one certain day (All-Souls' 
Day) these gather in celebration of High Mass. During 
Lent the children collect great piles of brushwood on 
high points and clearings in the hills, and set them on fire 
at a given time. Any child refusing to do this service is 
marked and persecuted by the others, who chase them and 
when caught, blacken their faces with burnt sticks. 
About the streets of Verviers on All-Souls' Day parade 
bands of fantastically clad children who carry pots of 
burning charcoal and solicit alms for the support of the 
poor. 

As has been said, the Walloon is the highest and best 
type of the Belgian race : though of dark complexion, he 
is rarely as swarthy as the Fleming of Brabant, and is 
taller and much more robust than these. It will be re- 
called that the Spaniards had little connection with the 

201 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

people of Liege, who remained independent under its 
Prince Bishops, so they escaped contamination. Always 
celebrated as haughty and exceedingly quarrelsome, al- 
ways ready for a fight, it was Charles the Bold who suc- 
ceeded in awing them, carrying his hostage, the unhappy 
Louis XI with him on his march on Liege, which he cap- 
tured in spite of the valiant resistance of its men. Read- 
ers of Sir Walter Scott's "Quentin Durward" will recall 
in the Chronicle of Commines the story of the surprise 
by the men of Franchimont in the dark hours of the night, 
which so nearly succeeded. 

Crossing the River Meuse at Liege is the ancient stone 
bridge from which Charles threw the unfortunate cap- 
tives of both sexes "who filled the air with their cries and 
lamentations." 

Franchimont lives ever in legend. We read the story 
in Scott's "Marmion," — 

"Dids't ever, dear Heber, pass along 
Beneath the towers of Franchemont, 
Which like an eagle's nest in air 
Hang o'er the stream and hamlet fair? 
Deep in their vaults, the peasants say, 
A mighty treasure buried lay, 
Amassed through rapine and wrong, 
By the last Lord of Franchemont." 

Aroused by the legend that the devil in the character of a 
hunter, bearing a great spear, and having a horn at his 

202 



LIEGE 

belt, which he winds at intervals on stormy nights, stands 
guard over a great iron treasure chest which was buried 
below the castle walls, the peasants have repeatedly dug 
great holes which are pointed out to the traveler. Noth- 
ing, however, has yet been found to reward them. Of 
the ruins of the castle on the hillside called the Hoegne, 
nothing now remains but an ivy covered heap of stones, 
whatever it may have been when "dear Heber" saw it 
more than one hundred years ago. 

Of the legends, there are dozens related by the his- 
torians of the locality, and in most, if not all of them, his 
majesty the devil figures prominently. In one of these 
he takes the form of a very beautiful maiden whose habit 
it was to recline weeping piteously beside a gurgling 
brook. There, as related, she was found by one of the 
barons or chieftains who carried her up to his castle in his 
arms on his great charger. There she remained until, 
of course as she was bound to do, she disclosed her true 
character to the Baron, who is said to have calmly replied 
— "The Devil, eh*? Then get you back to Hell, and say 
i — never have you better fared than when you Raoul's 
supper shared!" 

But few travelers save the ubiquitous "commis voy- 
ageur" ever penetrate the country of the Walloons be- 
yond Liege and its environs, and of the character of the 
other towns and the people they know little. 

The fighting attributes of the Walloons of the Mid- 
203 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

die Ages were certainly preserved by their descendants 
during three centuries. They so resented intrusion into 
their domain that the saying "Who enters this district 
(Hesbaye) must fight," proved too often the truth, and 
so successful were they that the other nobles let them 
severely alone. Thus lacking opportunities for fight, 
they attacked one another. Then began the sanguinary 
conflicts between the Barons of Waroux and the Awans 
which resulted in their deaths in battle. The chronicles 
are filled with the accounts. At the battle of St. Quen- 
tin, which was fought in 1557, the Walloon regiments 
fought so savagely that their prowess became known far 
and wide, and it was nearly a hundred years after that 
they had their first serious defeat in Conde's great victory 
at Rocroi in 1643. Schiller refers to them in "Wallen- 
stein," saying "Respect him, for he is a Walloon." Even 
during the Austrian rule, the Walloon warriors formed a 
splendid phalanx and maintained their reputation in the 
army of the Spanish Netherlands. In the French army 
they had a splendid record, and it is recorded that Gen- 
eral Thiebaut valued their services even above that of 
the picked French troops, while Charles Rogier attributed 
no small part of the success of the Belgian uprising of 
1830 to the intrepid character of the Walloon soldiers 
and their officers. So perhaps some idea of their char- 
acter may be had from these "scrappy" details, gathered 
at haphazard. 

204 



LIEGE 

Liege, as far as picturesqueness is concerned, is cer- 
tainly most satisfying. The view over the town and sur- 
rounding country from the hill above the station des 
Guillemans is as famous as that from the Citadel. The 
prospect is bounded towards the south by the Ardennes 
mountains, and on the north by the extended levels of 
Limburg. The town contains many architectural fea- 
tures of interest, and numerous statues of merit, chief of 
which is the fine monument to Charlemagne, the work of 
the sculptor Ichotte. 

Charlemagne, according to history, granted to Liege its 
earliest privileges, and Ichotte has shown him in a com- 
manding attitude with outstretched arm. Arrayed about 
the pedestal are the statues of Charles Martel ; Pepin the 
Second of Heristal; Pepin the Little; Saint Begga and 
Queen Bartha. Among the trees is found a quaint sort of 
monumental fountain called "The Ancient Perron," of 
which certain legends are related of such free character 
that they cannot well be included here, although they are 
quite amusing. 

Although founded as late as 1847 the University is a 
source of intense pride and gratification to the Liegoise. 
Its title is "The Belgian State University for the Wal- 
loon district." Built in the Renaissance style it has a 
very plain facade of sandstone. The Library comprises 
about three hundred thousand volumes, and upwards of 
thirteen hundred very fine manuscripts, illuminated and 

205 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

otherwise, all very well arranged and cared for. More 
than two thousand students attend and are directed by a 
corps of seventy professors. Emile de Laveleye, the 
Economist; Catelan, the Mathematician; Ste. Berive and 
Baron, the Literary Historians ; Andre Damon, the Geol- 
ogist, and J. T. Lacondiere, the Anatomist, are among 
the very celebrated professors who have been directly 
connected with the University. 

Founded in 1014 by the militant Bishop Balderic II, 
the Church of St. Jacques is built in the late Gothic style, 
with a remarkable polygonal choir, surrounded by ornate 
small chapels. The sole vestige remaining of the an- 
cient church is said to be the Romanesque west fagade 
which has an octagonal tower. Lombard added the Ren- 
aissance portal of the north transept in the year 1558. 

The impressive nave is two hundred and seventy feet 
long, one hundred feet wide, and the height is seventy- 
five feet. The decoration of the interior is in the "His- 
pano-Morescan" style, and is really gorgeous in color. 
There is a great organ case, the work of the Dutch carver 
Andrea Severin of Maastricht, dated 1670. In the tran- 
sept is the tomb of Bishop Balderic II, and there are a 
number of splendid painted windows of the Sixteenth 
Century in the choir, representing the Crucifixion ; Abra- 
ham's Sacrifice ; the Brazen Serpent, together with figures 
of tutelary Saints, the Donors, and their armorial bear- 
ings. 

206 



LIEGE 

A still earlier church is that of St. Paul, founded by 
Bishop Heraclius in 968, and rebuilt in 1280, the nave in 
1528. This church, originally that of an abbey, was ele- 
vated and consecrated as Cathedral in 1802. In 1812 
the tower, some three hundred feet in height, was added 
and contains one of the finest Carillons in the country. 
It is larger than St. Jacques, and the nave and aisles are 
dignified by the massive round pillars that rise so majest- 
ically. The beautifully proportioned nave is embel- 
lished by a triforium gallery of exquisite design and the 
vaulting has Renaissance carving dating from 1579, 
probably the work of the pupils of Lombard. In the 
south transept is a fine painted window representing the 
coronation of the Virgin, dated 1530. 

The crowning feature of the Choir is the remarkable 
brass railing (Dinanderie) which separates it from the 
nave. Here are five ancient painted glass windows (in 
the apse) dated 1557-87. The enameled copper altar of 
St. Theodore is an admirable example of "Dinanderie" 
work. In the chapel to the left of the Choir is "Christ 
in the Sepulchre," the work in marble of Delcour in the 
year 1696. The Treasury contains objects of remark- 
able character and great value, as for instance: a reli- 
quary of St. Lambert ; a group in gold enamel, represent- 
ing St. George and the Dragon, which was presented to 
the town by Charles the Bold, in expiation for his de- 
struction of Liege in 1468; and a life size silvergilt bust 

207 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

on a pedestal five feet tall, of St. Lambert, the work of 
Henri Zutman of Liege in 1512. In the treasury of the 
Church of St. Croix is a very remarkable bronze key said 
to be of the Eighth Century, which alone is well worth the 
trouble of a visit. 

The Church of St. Martin, of severe but most impos- 
ing proportions, was rebuilt in 1542, on the site of an 
older structure founded by Bishop Heraclius, which was 
destroyed by fire in 1312, in which year there was a san- 
guinary conflict between the nobles and the burghers in 
which two hundred of the former with their soldiers and 
adherents perished in the flames. 

In 1903, following an uprising of anarchistic work- 
men some of the miscreants put quantities of dynamite in 
the walls of the old church, which, exploding, entirely de- 
stroyed a splendid row of ancient painted glass windows 
in the Choir which represented scenes in the life of the 
saint. Houses in the street hundreds of yards away were 
blown down by the blast. The men responsible were 
never apprehended. 

"The Palace" was built in the period of 1508-1540 by 
the Cardinal Eberhard de la Marck, a kinsman of the fa- 
mous William de la Marck, the ferocious Wild Boar of 
the Ardennes, whose murder of the Bishop of Liege is 
told in Scott's "Quentin Durward." The fagade on the 
Place St. Lambert was rebuilt in 1737 after a conflagra- 
tion that almost entirely destroyed it. There are two 

208 



LIEGE 

great buildings each enclosing a courtyard surrounded by 
vaulted arcades supported by ornate capitals, carved pro- 
fusely with fantastic, yet often beautiful, foliage, figures 
and grotesque masks, the work of Francois Borset, a na- 
tive of Liege. 

While there is much more wealth in Liege than in 
Ghent, there is undoubtedly more evidence of poverty 
and its accompanying misery. Certainly, going from the 
charm of the upper town with its wide handsome streets 
and parks, the poor quarters on both banks of the river 
give one a great shock. Against the side of the mount, 
crowned by the Citadel, are dismal high walled old tene- 
ments with rag-festooned, often sashless, windows 
swarming with dirty, wretched looking men, women, and 
squalling children. And it may be said that these condi- 
tions are repeated across the river in the new settlement 
of Bressoux, where there seems to be no excuse for 
squalor; for the dwellings are newly built expressly to 
combat unsanitary conditions. 

These people, however, refuse to be clean or orderly. 
The noise in the dirty crowded streets seems sweet music 
in their ears ; they thrive upon the very conditions which 
philanthropy seeks to terminate. The industry upon 
which the prosperity of Liege depends, is the manufac- 
ture of arms, which has given more or less lucrative em- 
ployment to thousands of families. In Liege the work- 
man assembles the different parts in his home, and sells 

209 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

the finished product at the gunshop for the stipulated 
price fixed. There are said to be nearly fifty thousand 
working gunsmiths in the ctiy of Liege, and its suburbs 
which extend along the river banks are lined with fac- 
tories and belching furnaces. There is said to be an enor- 
mous business done in small arms as well as in guns, and 
these are spoken of by experts as of inferior quality for 
the reason that there is more money for the workman in 
cheap firearms than in the more expensive ones. 

At Saraing is situated the great foundry and iron works 
which were established after the battle of Waterloo by an 
Englishman named Cockerill, under the support of Wil- 
liam I, King of the Netherlands, who is said to have fur- 
nished one-half of the necessary capital. An ancient 
chateau and the grounds, the former summer residence 
of the Prince Bishops, was selected, as the site for the 
works, which are said to cover more than two hundred 
acres, and here are employed upwards of fifteen thousand 
workmen. The manager of the works resides in the cha- 
teau, which has a most remarkable library. 

The valley is the seat of the coal mines which are only 
second in productiveness to those of Hainaut. The com- 
bined mines do not, however, supply the needs of the 
country. "Contrary to the general impression, the Ger- 
mans did not destroy the Belgian mines, evidently ex- 
pecting, until the last few months of the war, to retain 
Belgium. However, the estimated deficiency in Belgian 

210 



LIEGE 

production for the coming year (1920) is 9,000,000 tons, 
and having imported 4,000,000 tons from England and 
Germany before the war, the total deficiency probably 
will be 13,000,000 tons." (Wall Street Journal, Aug- 
ust, 1919.) 

After the separation of Holland and Belgium in 1831, 
Cockerill paid over to King William the sum he had bor- 
rowed, including the King's share of the capital, and was 
thus proprietor of the great business up to the time of 
his death in 1840. Thirty-one years later in 1871, at the 
close of the Franco-Prussian war, a party of Belgian cap- 
italists bought out the heirs of Cockerill, and the busi- 
ness became a national one, exclusively Belgian, and the 
pride of the country. 

Mention should be made of some of the other great 
manufacturing centers which are comparatively unknown 
to tourists, such as those of Diest, Ath, Renaix and Gem- 
bloux. At the last mentioned town is situated the great 
engine works of the Belgian State Railways, employing 
thousands of skilled workmen. Ath is celebrated as the 
seat of the lime industry; Renaix has important cloth 
mills; Diest's breweries have developed into a large en- 
terprise. At Verviers, a town of 50,000 population, 
cloth making has flourished since the eighteenth century, 
and official figures give 400,000 pieces of cloth as an an- 
nual output of the mills, one-third of which is exported. 
Napoleon III spent a night here in the Hotel du Chemin 

211 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

de Fer, in 1870, on his way as a prisoner to Wilhelmshohe. 
According to report Belgian capitalists at the head of 
twelve of the most powerful corporations whose plants 
were laid waste by the Germans, have formed one of the 
greatest steel corporations of the world. Stock in the 
various companies forming this pool is being taken care 
of according to the method followed in merging many 
American steel plants of the United States Steel Corpor- 
ation. The only thing remaining to be done, says the 
report, is to place a valuation upon the ore mines in the 
Briey Basin and the Duchy of Luxemburg which will 
form a part of the new trust. Such a combination of 
companies would naturally include the Ougree-Marihaye 
Steel works and the John Cockerill works, both near 
Liege, and also the Providence mills at Charleroi. Each 
plant in the combination will be so built as to specialize 
in some particular branch of the steel industry. 



212 



TOons 



y>g%URIOUSLY enough the Flemings scorn the name 
fijJJ under which the town is best known, and insist 
^■-'" upon calling it "Berghen," capital of the Province 
of Hainault, and the center of the great coal mining dis- 
trict, known far and wide under the name of "Le Bo- 
rinage" ; the trim town situated on a hill dominating the 
Trouille is headquarters of the coal trade of Belgium. 
The people are called "Borains" (coal borers) , and here- 
abouts in this region one finds a remarkable state of af- 
fairs that has been the concern of the authorities for a 
long time. The coal district proper lies far southward 
from Mons, extending westward towards Quivrain. 
The railway line from Tournai to Charleroi passes 
through this district, and few travelers, save those inter- 
ested in coal, stop on the way, so that the region is com- 
paratively unknown. 

More than one hundred thousand workmen, men 
women and children, are employed in the mines, and it 
is authoritatively stated that more than twenty million 
tons per annum were produced up to the outbreak of the 
Great War. The mines were controlled and operated by 
"Societes Anonymes" or joint stock companies. Under 

213 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

this plan, the State refrained from participation, giving 
entire control to the companies with the understanding 
that the companies were to use their energies to develop 
national industry, but reserving all rights over any new 
fields that might be discovered. The great coal fields of 
the Province of Hainault, therefore, have been developed 
and exploited to a remarkable extent, and consequently 
enormous profit by a comparatively small number of cap- 
italists, who at length disposed of the shares on the 
Bourse at very high premiums. 

More than twenty-five years ago, before the organiza- 
tion of labor, these owners received and enjoyed tremen- 
dous profits from the labor of the unfortunate miners and 
their families, who toiled early and late for their masters 
at a pitiful wage, the highest (it is said) being under five 
dollars per working week (twenty-five francs) . This se- 
vere toil, ill nourishment and its consequences, has re- 
sulted in a race of dwarfed, semi-imbecile beings, ter- 
rible to look upon. Travelers through the region re- 
port many of the men under four feet eight inches in 
height, some are even less. The women seem somewhat 
taller, while the children, there are crowds of them, are 
stunted and emaciated to a remarkable degree. The 
present writer found these people fairly steeped in ig- 
norance, and their degradation supplemented by the 
drunkenness of the men, there being apparently no re- 
striction whatever upon the sale of liquor, each house- 

214. 



MONS 

holder can and does retail the particularly vile compound 
in vogue. Strangely enough, there are no signs visible of 
the houses being drinking shops. The houses are nearly 
all alike ; the narrow door opening from the street into a 
narrow hall, thence to a sort of living room containing a 
few chairs or benches before a long table. There is in- 
variably a curious looking brass-bound cast iron stove 
raised upon spidery legs, upon which a couple of pots are 
placed, containing a sort of meat and vegetable stew of 
which the people are fond. The drink is usually served 
by a slatternly woman, who fetches it from an inner 
room. 

There are two classes of drunkards, beer (faro) 
drinkers, and gin drinkers. Of these the first named is 
the least harmful of the two, for having filled themselves 
to capacity, they lie down anywhere, in doorways or 
street, and sleep it off. The gin (or alcohol) drinkers 
are the worst; the spirit, a vile concoction of potato alco- 
hol, fairly maddens them, so that after a couple of drinks 
they are ready and willing for any sort of crime. This 
tipple is locally known as "Schnick." Not one of them 
will tell where it is made ; that is a well guarded secret. 
It smells of petroleum or turpentine, and burned my 
tongue when I tasted it. It costs ten centimes (one cent) 
for a fairly large glass. The room where I sampled this 
glass of "Schnick" was typical of all the rest of these 
drinking shops ; it fairly reeked with the odors of stale to- 

215 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

bacco, beer, and the steam from the simmering pot on the 
stove. As I sat at the soiled bare table, small children 
eyed me furtively through the half open door into the 
dark back room, nor could I induce any of them to come 
to me even by the proffer of a piece of money. Seeing 
that I did not drink the "Schnick" the woman who waited 
upon me asked for it, and drank it eagerly. She wiped 
her mouth with the corner of her apron and said it was 
good. She told me that the men drank a pint of the 
stuff a day as an allowance. On the wall was a large 
lithograph poster depicting in colors the danger of drink- 
ing alcohol, and describing its effects in the simplest of 
language, showing that the Government is aware of the 
serious consequences of drunkenness. Strangely enough, 
it refrains from imposing licenses, or restricting in any 
manner the sale of the pernicious substitutes for gin. 
Yet it is confronted by the prospect that if something in 
the way of restriction is not at once instituted, the de- 
terioration of the inhabitants of the region must bring 
about a grave peril to Belgian people. 

In Hainault, the great majority of the workmen are 
said to be illiterate; how can they be otherwise 4 ? Edu- 
cation is not compulsory, and as far as I could discover 
there is no restriction whatever upon the indiscriminate 
employment of children in the mines. The church seem- 
ingly ignores the matter of education. The use of young 
children at the mines is the root of the whole matter, for 

216 




,:*■»' 



%timM- 



mm 



MONS 

at the tender age of twelve, boys and girls are eligible 
for employment above ground. Whatever schooling 
they have managed to get is then at an end. Thence- 
forth they are wage earners. The more children there 
are, the more each family earns. Consequently, the per- 
centage of illegitimacy is staggering. To the mine 
owners the operators are merely so many laborers. Seem- 
ingly they do not greatly concern themselves about their 
amusements. They have no reading rooms as far as I 
could discover, and the only places of entertainment for 
them are the "ordinaries" or cabarets before mentioned. 
The result which I have hinted at is inevitable. Boul- 
ger ("Belgian Life in Town and Country") says that a 
Belgian nobleman contemptuously described to him the 
people of the Borinage as "Ces gens la sont des brutes," 
but this, it seems to me, hardly disposes of the question, or 
the responsibility of the authorities. It is said that, per- 
haps awakening to the danger, the Government had 
lately (before the war) brought in and passed a bill in- 
creasing the excise tax on spirits by 50 per cent. The im- 
portance of the matter may be judged by the figures of the 
last census which give the number of men and boys and 
women employed in the mines and metal industries as : 

Men and boys 277,997 

Women 15,266 

Total 293,263 

217 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

The coal industry is by far the most important product 
of Belgium. Out of the total output of (these are the 
official figures) twenty-three million, four hundred and 
sixty-two thousand, eight hundred and nineteen tons, 
only seven million tons were exported. New coal fields, 
it is said, have been discovered in the District of Cam- 
pine, a part of the Province of Limburg, and now that 
the war is over, and Limburg become Belgian, un- 
doubtedly will be exploited with that admirable skill 
and enterprise ever shown by the Belgians. 

It is a relief then to turn one's back upon all this, and 
return to the quaint town of Mons with its huge Cathe- 
dral of St. Waltrudis, begun in 1450 by Matthew de 
Layens, the same architect who designed the lovely Town 
Hall at Louvain, and a curious little old Gothic "Hotel 
de Ville" in the grand' place, with an ornate band stand 
crowded up before its very door, where on the day of our 
visit a resplendently clad military band was playing 
popular airs and marches, and the chimes in the neighbor- 
ing "BefTroi" were jangling merrily in opposition. It 
was the day after the celebration of the fete which we un- 
fortunately missed, called the "Lume^on," celebrated on 
Trinity Sunday, and drawing crowds, from the surround- 
ing districts. The festival of "Lumeepn" [which in 
the Walloon tongue is "Lumacon" — a snail] is according 
to the legend simply that of St. George and the Dragon. 
Here the Knight is called "Gilles de Chin," while the 

218 



MONS 

dragon is of the usual type with crimson scales, green 
eyes, and a huge mouth belching flame and smoke. This 
dragon is said to have kept a beauteuos maiden Princess 
prisoner in a cave in a certain dark forest near Mons. 
The procession winds through the crowded streets and 
after being duly execrated, is dispatched in the center 
of the quaint Grand' Place just below the old castle. A 
feature of this parade is a wooden replica of the famous 
Mons cannon, used at the Battle of Creey, where the sol- 
diers of Mons fought side by side with the English. Ed- 
ward the Third's Queen was Eleanor, Countess of Hain- 
aut. The town was still hung with bunting, and there 
were throngs of people in holiday attire in the streets 
while the inns seemed to be doing a tremendous business. 
A fellow traveler, a "Commis Voyageur," directed us to 
one which he pronounced the very best in the country, 
and he introduced us to the proprietor, who made us 
comfortable in spite of the crowd which taxed his re- 
sources. Now the Belgian is a big eater; he is likewise 
what is called a "bird eater." It is customary with the 
people to sit down at one o'clock and remain at table a 
couple of hours. The wise traveler will conform to cus- 
tom. Let me quote the bill of fare of this provincial inn, 
a gargantuan one. 

Huitres d'Ostende iPetites feves de Marais a la 

Potage Oxtail Creme 

Saumon de Hollande a la Russe Salmis de Caneton Sauvage 

219 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Bouchees a la Reine Faison de Boheme 

Chevreuil Diane Chasseresse Salade de Saison 

Becasses bardees sur Canape Divide truffe Mayonnaise 

Tete de Veau en Tortue Glace Vanillee 

Surprises Graxille (a Sorbet) Fruits 

Pluviers dores poire Vin Gateaux 

Jambonneau au Madere Dessert 

The price of this astounding feast was five francs, — 
and the wine! Newnham Davis "The Gourmet's 
Guide to Europe"] says that "the best Burgundy in Eu- 
rope is to be found in the Belgian cellars." Whether this 
regulation is maintained in honor of the Duke of Bur- 
gundy, who once ruled the land, or whether the good 
quality of the wine is due to the peculiar sandy soil which 
permits an unvarying temperature in the cellars, I will 
leave to others to determine, but the fact remains that 
from a Beaujolais at 2 francs 50 centimes to a Richebourg 
at 20 francs, the Burgundy offered to the traveler in 
Belgium is generally unimpeachable. Flemish cooking 
as a rule is "fat and porky," and there is a dish often 
seen on the "Carte" called "Choesels a la Bruxelloise," 
which is considered a delicacy by the natives, and is sup- 
posed to be a hash cooked in sherry or marsala; it is, how- 
ever, a dish of mystery (!) A "plat" always to be found 
in Belgium (especially in the Flanders district) , is "Wa- 
terzoie de Poulet," a chicken broth is served with the 
fowl. This is usually very safe. Carbonades Flaman- 
des is another Flemish dish which, if well done, can be 

220 



MONS 

eaten without fear. This is beef steak stewed in "Faro," 
[beer], and served with rich brown sauce. "Salade de 
Princesses Liegeoises" is made with scarlet runners mixed 
with little slices of fried bacon. The bacon takes the 
place of oil, while the vinegar should be used with a 
heavy hand. Of all the Belgian "plats," however, they 
place foremost Grives a la Namuroise; which are of course 
only to be had in the autumn. The Belgian, as aforesaid, 
is a great game bird eater, and throughout the country all 
kinds of birds, even, I regret to say, song birds are pressed 
into service for the table. A stranger visiting the Ar- 
dennes will be struck by the sad silence of the woods, 
which is caused by the wholesale destruction of the birds. 
How the supply is kept up is difficult to say, but no Bel- 
gian dinner is considered complete without a bird of some 
sort, and when Grives are in season, thousands must be 
served daily. A "Grive" is a thrush, but blackbirds and 
starlings often find their way to the casserole under the 
name of "Grive." They are cooked with the "trail" in 
which Mountain Ash berries are often found, these give 
the bird a peculiar and rather bitter flavor, but the berry 
mostly used in the cooking is the juniper which grows 
very plentifully in Belgium. 

At Mons and at Liege there is every year a woodcock 
feast; at these feasts a little wax candle is placed at the 
side of each plate, so that one can take the head of his 
"becasse" and frizzle it in the flame before he attacks its 

221 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

brains. — While speaking of partridges I ought to men- 
tion that there is no partridge in the world so plump and 
sweet as one shot in the neighborhood of Louvain, where 
they feed on beetroot cultivated for the sugar factories. 
At a restaurant "Coq de bruyere" is often served as 
grouse, but this is a blackcock. — The Flemish custom is 
to "dine" in the middle of the day and "sup" at about 
seven. 

But certainly not all of the "table d'hotes" of Belgium 
are cheap, and as emblematic of some of my own experi- 
ences, I may quote again one of Mr. Newnham Davis' 
from this same little book. Speaking of Ostende, he 
says that the great majority of its well-to-do visitors make 
a bargain with one of the hotels to take them "en pension" 
and are content with the table d'hote dinner which looks 
quite showy on the menu card, though it does not waken 
that extra sense of appreciation which every true "gour- 
met" possesses. "But Ostende — he who would dine well 
there amidst refined surroundings must have a long purse. 
The same syndicate which owns the Hotel de Paris at 
Monte Carlo controls the Hotel du Palais. The res- 
taurant, with its stained glass roof, has windows which 
look across the sea wall (or digue) and it is a remarkably 
pleasant place in which to dine; but the prices are those 
of Monte Carlo. I went there by myself to lunch and 
found that the 'carte du jour' presented had no prices 
marked on it, which must have exercised the mind of a 

222 





PfSpjawXl' ■-=-•■ 



MONS 

veritable John Bull who was sitting at the next table, and 
who asked the waiter, 'How much is that*?' concern- 
ing the dishes, to which question he gave a soothing but 
quite noncommittal reply. I ordered a 'friture of 
langues d'avocat' the little flat fish that somewhat re- 
semble pointed tongues; and as the shooting season had 
just commenced, the maitre d'hotel recommended two 
quails and a 'pilaf of rice, which seemed to me to be an 
admirable suggestion. I ordered a half bottle of mineral 
water and a half bottle of 'chateaux carbonieux' after my 
quails, little birds of brown firm flesh differing much in 
this from the fattened up, imported quail of the south. 

"I thought I would like a pear, and the waiter brought 
me, packed in cotton wool, a monster pear and apples 
with little landscapes traced upon their rosy cheeks with a 
graver. — I know those pears and apples of old. If one 
happens to be giving a dinner to a lady in whose company 
one does not wish to appear mean, and the waiter brings 
a box of those marvelous pears and apples to her, one 
makes a swift mental calculation of all the money one has 
in one's pocket, at the same time that one wishes the 
waiter might suddenly be stricken with apoplexy. In 
the present case, being alone, I grinned at the waiter and 
told him to bring me something cheap. He returned with 
some peaches. They also were packed with cotton wool, 
and the large ones had a little collar and bow of black and 
gold ribbon just like pet kittens. I imitated my John 

223 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Bull neighbor and asked the price. The waiter 'thought' 
that the big peaches were eight francs apiece ($1.60) and 
the smaller ones five francs. 'I will bring you some green 
gages, they are very cheap,' said the waiter, who did not 
require to be told that I would be no peach eater. Now, 
I happened to know that green gages were very cheap that 
day. I had been around to the market and knew that 
they were being sold at thirty centimes a kilo (six cents) 
at the stalls, and that at Jean Bogaeart's shop in the 
Grand Place the quail were priced at one franc (20 cents) 
each. The waiter brought me a big box of green gages 
and I took five in all. My bill came to twenty francs, 
seventy-five centimes, and I found that I had been 
charged half a franc each for the green gages ! My heart 
went out to one of my friends who when I laughingly told 
him of the cheap (?) green gages, informed me that one 
day at the races his wife thought she would like to take 
tea at the Palais and invited a half dozen other ladies. 
He was detained in the paddock, and when he joined the 
tea party found, that not content with tea and cakes, the 
ladies had eaten the contents of three boxes of specimen 
fruits. A dinner party would have cost him less than 
that afternoon tea." 

However, the man who wishes to keep his dinner bill 
below ten francs, or even below five, need not fare ill 
at Ostende. In the Grand Place is the "charcutier's" 
shop of Mons, Jean Bogaerts, who is a "Fournisseur du 

224 



MONS 

Roi," but who mostly signs himself as "Traiteur." In 
his shop window during the shooting season is always 
some choice game, and relays of fresh trout are sent him 
daily. On the first floor above the shops is a little res- 
taurant which bears the title "Au Gourmet." 

It is a very unpretending little place, the knives are 
black handled, and the napery is coarse, but it is perfectly 
clean. On the mirrors are wafered the names of the 
"plats du Jour," the cost of which seems generally to be 
l franc, 50 centimes ; a modest bill of fare conveys fuller 
information. A small girl sits at the caisse, and an el- 
derly waiter with a blue black mustache, embroidered 
shirt front and gloomy views concerning life, takes one's 
orders. I ordered some shrimps as "hors d'ceuvres" and 
a finger bowl was brought after I had finished; a small 
matter, but showed that the waiter, who looked like a 
nobleman in disguise, suffering from some bitter sorrow, 
knew his business. The menu was shrimps, Baby sole a 
la Meuniere, roast snipe on toast, with water cress, cream 
cheese, black grapes, a pint of Cerons, a small bottle of 
Louise Marie Mineral Water, and my bill came to six 
francs, 65 centimes ($1.38). 

Of course this was before the war. 

But to return to Mons and its attractions; after din- 
ner we sat outside before one of the small tables taking 
our coffee at leisure, and being much amused at the con- 
versation of our neighbors who were hugely enjoying 

225 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

themselves over the holiday. The bourgeois Fleming 
is much given to family parties, so they all, men, women 
and children, sit for hours together at the small cafes. 
They like to dine "al fresco" and even when the repast 
is limited to one or two dishes for himself and wife, and 
a "tartine" or a "gauffre" apiece for the children, the 
Fleming is apt to sit there the whole evening drinking, not 
immoderately, the thin sour beer called "Faro," or the 
"geuze lambeck" so highly esteemed. Above all, the 
Fleming likes music. Each community has its particular 
society, and invariably its members will form a band or 
"Symphonic" The Fleming loves to parade with a band 
and flags. The most frequent occasion for the parade is 
at the funeral of a departed member, when the "Sym- 
phonic Communale" attends in a body, and leads the 
ornate and beplumed and gilded hearse to the strains of 
the Dead March in Saul. Sometimes these parades are 
of a political character, and intense feeling is aroused 
among the bystanders by the sight of a particular flag 
bearing a rampant lion, and the motto "Vlaanderen Voor 
Vlaamche," but the explanation afforded by those ques- 
tioned was so technical and involved that one could un- 
derstand little of what it all related to. The two par- 
ties, Clericals and Anti-clericals, seem ever at logger- 
heads however, and we followed one of these towards 
the cathedral. 

Mons has certainly every reason to be proud of this, 

226 



MONS 

one of the finest of Belgium's fanes. Built in the fif- 
teenth century, as related, it prizes among its treasures 
several painted windows of priceless value, as well as 
examples of fifteenth and sixteenth century sculpture. 
The painted glass shows the crucifixion, with figures rep- 
resenting Maximilian and his wife, Mary of Burgundy, 
his son Philip the Handsome, his daughter Margaret, 
together with their several patron saints, soldiers, and 
attendants, all most gorgeously clad. Mons is de- 
servedly proud of this great Cathedral of St. Waltrudis, 
[which they call Sainte Wandru], and all of its treas- 
ures. Architects are unanimous in pronouncing it to be 
one of the examples of late Gothic in Belgium, all un- 
finished as it is. The original plans called for an ele- 
gant slender tower, but the project was never carried 
out, and only a diminutive spire shows above the great 
Gothic turrets. Formerly in common with the custom 
in other towns in Belgium, of renting space about the 
church properties, this structure was quite surrounded by 
small dwellings and shops which clung to the venerable 
walls, but some years ago, the authorities, aroused by the 
objections and protests of eminent architects, demolished 
these encroachments and the cathedral now stands forth 
in all its majesty. The most impressive interior is three 
hundred and fifty-five feet in length, eighty feet in height, 
and one hundred and sixteen feet in width. There are 
sixty slender clustered columns without capitals sup- 

227 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

porting the vaulting. The windows are ninety in num- 
ber, and the altar paintings are by Van Thulden and some 
other artists whose names I could not ascertain. The Re- 
liefs upon the High Altar and others in the side chapels 
were originally (so said the little priest who showed us 
about) in a Rood loft destroyed by the French during the 
revolution. They are the work of Jacques Dubroeucq. 
They are remarkable. My drawing will perhaps give a 
better idea of the cathedral than a page of written de- 
scription. Nearby, in the Place St. Germain, is a monu- 
ment erected to a certain famous Mayor of Mons, Fran- 
cois Delez. But of his particular acts and accomplish- 
ments our conductor was exceedingly ignorant, nor did 
the inscription upon the pedestal serve to enlighten us. 

The belfry, containing a very fine peal of bells (tam- 
bour carillon) is in the Renaissance style, some two hun- 
dred and seventy feet high, and erected upon the highest 
ground in the town. 

The principal interest of the quaint Hotel de Ville, 
built in 1458, attaches to the row of statuettes on the 
facade, and a curious clock on the base of the somewhat 
bizarre tower. Inside there is a wrought iron figure of a 
monkey or ape mounted on the main staircase of which 
the people are very proud. It is explained that it rep- 
resents a former trade emblem, but so hazy and confused 
was the legend regarding it, that I could get little upon 
which to pen a story. 

228 



MONS 

The interior of the hallway contains a fine Gothic 
chimney piece, of which I made a drawing. The ceiling 
is supported by great beams from one of which depends 
a most beautiful candelabra. 

The town played a very considerable part in the Wars 
of the French Revolution. Some three miles away is 
the battlefield of Malplaquet, where in 1709 Marlbor- 
ough and Eugene gained a great but very dearly bought 
victory over the French under Marshal de Villers. Far- 
ther on is the battlefield of Jemappes, where, under the 
leadership of Dumouriez, the French gained a great vic- 
tory over the Austrians in 1792. 

It was not until after we left Mons that I was told of 
a remarkable tapestry, hanging in the Town Hall, and 
said to be after the designs of Teniers, but the custode 
failed to point it out to us. 

The two quaint gables to the right and left of the 
Town Hall (shown in my drawing) are the "Maison de 
la Toison d'Or," and the "Chapel of St. George." The 
other attraction of the town is the library in the Rue des 
Gades, which treasures a collection of some forty thou- 
sand printed works, and illuminated manuscripts. 
These latter were unguarded, and had I been so evil 
minded I might have helped myself to whatever I 
fancied. When I called the attention of the "snuffy" 
custode to this matter, he seemed much astonished, and at 
length gave way to a display of temper which terminated 

229 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

our visit and accelerated our departure from the hall. 

In the grounds is a monument of handsome impressive 
design, the work of Frison, erected in honor of the com- 
poser Orlando di Lasso (Roland de Lattre, born at Mons 
in 1520) who died at Munich, Bavaria, in 1594, and there 
is nearby in the Rue de Rossignol, the Archaeological 
Museum and the Art Gallery where a collection of paint- 
ings by modern masters is housed. On what is called, 
rather grandiosely, the "Eastern Boulevard" is an 
equestrian statue (the work of the sculptor, Jaquet) of 
Baldwin IX of Hainault and Flanders. Baldwin it was 
who became prominent in the Fourth Crusade to the 
Holy Land, and who afterwards in 1204 was chosen 
Emperor of Constantinople. 

The town was formed about a fortress erected on the 
hill by Caesar during his wars against the Gauls, and the 
site of these ancient fortifications has now been converted 
into a really delightful promenade, the pride of its citi- 
zens, and those in Mons, as far as a tourist can judge, 
seemed to be happy and contented with the conditions 
surrounding them. 

It is not as easy to describe the daily life of the ordinary 
factory or mill worker, as that of the miners living as they 
do under special conditions entirely differentiates them 
from the other communities. The mill worker, as such, 
pursues the manner of life agreeable to himself, based 
upon his occupation and entirely oblivious of what the 

230 



MONS 

others do. The bond linking him to his class is not his 
work, but rather his commune, therefore any offhand 
attempt at a real and trustworthy account of the workers 
of Mons would be misleading if not impossible. But 
there are points discoverable concerning the Belgian ar- 
tisan which may here be of interest. His condition of 
life and well being certainly furnishes an index to the 
national welfare, and I am assured by those who know, 
this may be set down as quite as good as that of any other 
country. The hours of labor for him may be, indeed 
are, many, but he earns the necessaries of life, and ap- 
parently has a surplus left for at least some of what he 
calls luxuries. But his long hours of labor are lightened 
by the certainly not infrequent holidays, and he enjoys 
not only the "estaminets" or cafes, but the "cercle" or 
club, be it Catholic, Socialist, or Liberal; he belongs in- 
variably to one or the other. His life then is not as dull 
as it seems, for there are bands of music, dances, and al* 
ways the annual celebrations, such as the "Kirmes," wheri 
everything possible is done by the authorities for his 
amusement. 

The Belgian, be it observed, whether Flemish or Wal« 
loon, is by no means prone to take his pleasures phlegmatic 
cally or sadly. In discussing these matters with M. B. 
at the table d'hote at Mons, he listened to the details of 
my experiences at the coal mines with great patience, 
and when I had finished, he, admitting that what I said 

231 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

was in the main true, deplored the matter; but gave me 
other facts which were of use in the formation of this esti- 
mate of the life of the Belgian workman. The sum of 
his argument was as follows : Conditions of life among 
the working classes of Belgium proved upon close ex- 
amination that their material well-being is much better 
than hastily superficial (like mine, for instance) impres- 
sions would show. For instance, the communal authori- 
ties had (before the outbreak of the Great War) com- 
menced a campaign against those distressing problems 
concerning the overcrowding of factory towns, and purg- 
ing them of the plague spots. Rows of workmen's cot- 
tages, after the most approved plans, were being built, for 
instance, in the city of Brussels. New systems of tram- 
ways and light "Vicinal" railways have been built to 
transport the workingman to and from the factories. He 
urged that really the Belgian workman, in spite of his 
relatively low wages, was quite as well off as any other. 
While his wages were not excessive, they were supple- 
mented by the sums earned by his wife and children, the 
latter being productive of earnings at the age of twelve ! 
His food is cheap and his beer is cheaper still. His 
taxes are so cunningly controlled and contributed that 
he does not realize them at all. He certainly does not 
want for amusement, and a great part of this is given 
gratuitously by the communal authorities. He gets thus 
the most out of his wages, for he enjoys every possible 

232 



MONS 

advantage that the communities can devise. The "Porte 
Ouvrier" has been organized for him throughout the coun- 
try so that he may enjoy the fruits and satisfaction of 
political agitation (under control, of course) . Great co- 
operative societies, open to the workmen, have been 
formed for the purpose of retailing to the members all 
needed commodities of life. The largest of these are the 
"Vooruit" at Ghent, and the "Maison du Peuple" in 
Brussels. In these great cooperative stores the mer- 
chandise, food, and furniture and clothing are sold to the 
workmen and their families, at cost, plus five per cent, 
for expenses. These stores maintain an active struggle 
against drunkenness, operating coffee houses where only 
light drinks are sold. There are said to be upwards of 
four hundred of these establishments in operation all 
over the Kingdom, and the total membership is now some- 
thing like sixty or seventy thousand. 

Both insurance and savings banks are attached to 
these stores for the members' benefit; the basis upon 
which they operate is a monthly payment of three francs 
to the insurance fund, and one franc for the bank for sav- 
ings. Under this plan the workman is assured of medi- 
cal attendance with a payment of one franc a day for the 
duration of his illness. His annual savings are doubled 
by certain additions made according to a state law. Also 
a new State Pension Bill is designed to encourage his 
thrift. By this means the Government is to pay each 

233 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

workman after the age of sixty-five an annual pension 
of sixty-five francs ($13.00). The smallness of this 
amount seemed incredible to me, but M. B. seemed to 
think it a fair sum, alleging the cheapness of living in 
Belgium, so, I give these figures without comment. He 
further stated that there had been a very large number 
of applicants for the benefice, so many indeed that the 
Government had been forced to impose an additional tax 
upon liquor as an ingenious means of getting from the 
workman the money to pay for his old-age pension in a 
manner entirely agreeable to himself. 



234 



<5^ N the exhaustive and most remarkable history of the 
11 colonizing aptitude of the Belgians, written by M. 
^^ Alphonse de Haulleville ("Les Aptitudes Colon- 
isatrices des Beiges, et la Question Coloniale en Belgique 
1898") , the author traces the efforts of the Belgians, from 
the earliest period down to the endeavors of the Ghent 
Company in the eighteenth century, to enter into and en- 
joy its share of the trade with India. "The Belgians," 
he says, "as proved by their past, know how to colonize, — 
their necessities caused by the plethora of a dense popu- 
lation compel them to colonize unless they are prepared 
to perish as a nation, or at least, behold their existing 
prosperity depart." 

This feeling was voiced as well by King Leopold 
I, as long ago as 1843, when he declared that "it 
was necessary to organize regular relations with dis- 
tant countries for the benefit of the Belgian trade," and 
urged that "a company formed upon a model of the Os- 
tend Company would render the very greatest services to 
the nation." No practical result followed this speech, 

235 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

and the matter remained in abeyance in spite of the 
strong speech of the King. 

In i860, however, after the return of the Duke of 
Brabant (who afterwards was King Leopold II) from a 
tour of the Far East, and due to his farsighted policy and 
acumen, the matter was widely discussed, and his plans 
for the establishment of a Belgian Colony in the island 
of Formosa met with great enthusiasm; but interest again 
lapsed for one reason or another, and nothing practical re- 
sulted until after Leopold II ascended the throne. Pub- 
lic attention was called to the horrors of the slave trade, 
and a pronunciamento by the Pope initiated what has 
been called a crusade against the practice which was 
scandalizing the world. In Brussels the eloquence of 
Cardinal Lavigerie made a most powerful impression, 
and it was then that the psychological moment arrived for 
a state movement of Belgian aspirations for colonial pos- 
sessions. This movement resulted in giving to Belgium 
one of the finest, richest and largest colonial territories in 
the world — The Belgian Congo. The main facts, briefly 
stated, will be found useful to a knowledge of this great 
enterprise. 

In 1876, King Leopold issued a summons to a Geo- 
graphical Conference at Brussels, stating that there was 
a generally prevalent desire of the people throughout 
Christendom to abolish slavery in Africa. "To pierce 
the darkness that still envelops that part of the world 

236 



THE CONGO COLONY 

and to pour into it the treasures of civilization." As a 
result of this conference "The International Association 
for the Exploration and civilization of Central Africa" 
was organized. Expeditions were equipped at great 
cost, and sent to a base established on the East coast 
in the territory of Zanzibar. Two stations here were 
named Karema and Mpola situated on Lake Tanganyika. 
Henry M. Stanley, the explorer, sent a report of his won- 
derful journey across Central Africa which electrified the 
world. He declared that "the power which makes itself 
mistress of the Congo must absorb all the commerce of 
the immense basin which expands itself behind that great 
river." 

The King (Leopold II) , greatly interested, at once in- 
vited Stanley to Brussels, and by his enthusiasm and 
lavish offer of funds from his private fortune, induced the 
explorer to enter his service, and at once founded an asso- 
ciation for the exploration of the Upper Congo, under 
the leadership of Stanley. This expedition numbered 
ten Europeans, of whom five were Belgians. They 
founded the first station at Vivi, the highest point 
reached by boats below the cataracts. From here to 
Isanghila they constructed a road under tremendous dif- 
ficulties. Here they resumed navigation as far as Man- 
yanga, where again they resumed road building to Stan- 
ley Pool, where they assembled the parts of steamers 
brought with them in sections, and proceeded across the 

237 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

district named after the cataracts and established a line 
of posts. Five years were consumed in this operation 
and the result was a chain of posts from Leopoldville 
to Stanley Falls. In this way much of Central Africa 
was brought under the control of Belgium, but the matter 
was so entirely unofficial that no one could exactly de- 
fine the status of the association. But certainly, al- 
though nominally the Portuguese held authority over 
the coast, it had lost forever its hold upon Central Africa. 

Following the Anglo-Portuguese convention of 1884, 
which was a feeble attempt to reestablish Portuguese 
supremacy, the French Government declared that it 
would not be bound by it, and Germany acquiesced in 
this, the two powers agreeing that the Congo should be 
placed under international control. The United States 
in April, 1884, recognized the Congo as a properly con- 
structed State and France followed suit, stipulating, how- 
ever, that for her complaisance she should receive com- 
pensation. The Congo Association then entered into the 
following obligation towards France: "That it would 
never cede its possessions to another power without a 
prior understanding with France, and that if it were com- 
pelled to alienate any of its territory, France should have 
the right of preemption." 

In November following, Germany recognized the new 
State, and Bismarck called a conference at Berlin for the 
purpose of regulating the African question. It should 

238 



THE CONGO COLONY 

be remembered, however, that the Congo State had been 
recognized formally as a State by the three great na- 
tions before the Berlin Conference. It thus became the 
Independent State of the Congo, with separate treaties 
with the adjacent States, as to the limits defining its 
sovereign authority, the most important of which was 
with Portgual, securing outlet to the sea, with possession 
of the ports of Banana and Boma. An important treaty 
was that with France, by which the right of reversion of 
the Congo State to Belgium was made possible. 

When, in 1890, King Leopold published his will, he 
bequeathed the Congo Free State to his country, show- 
ing clearly that it had been his chief motive to enrich 
Belgium with a great Colony. 

The present valuation of the Congo State is conserva- 
tively placed at forty million pounds sterling. It covers 
an area of nine hundred thousand square miles, and con- 
tains a population variously estimated at twenty million. 
The cost of this creation by the State was upwards of 
one million pounds sterling, and this sum came from the 
private fortune of King Leopold II. As to the profits 
derived from this Colony, it was not until 1890 that the 
State obtained the right to levy taxes, and impose cus- 
tom duties. The revenue in that year was less than 
£20,000, while the expenditure was nearly £140,000. 
These figures were so alarming that the conference con- 
ferred new powers by the Brussels Act, which raised the 

239 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

annual revenue gradually to about £360,000 in 1897. 
Since that year it has shown a steady increase, and now 
(the year before the Great War) , it is said to be upon a 
paying basis. 

The Congo was formerly held to be an exclusively agri- 
cultural country, and to contain only a small amount of 
mineral deposits. Careful prospecting has, however, 
shown this idea to be erroneous, and that the region is 
very richly endowed in minerals. From Lake Albert on 
the eastern border to the extreme south of Katanga, the 
districts are filled with deposits of gold, diamonds, cop- 
per, tin and iron. Coal of excellent quality and easily 
mined, has been located on Lake Tanganyika; oil and oil- 
shale have been found in several districts. 

Large copper deposits in the center of the State have 
been known for centuries by the natives. The powerful 
kings of Uganda and Lunda used to send every year to 
the copper country large caravans of slaves carrying na- 
tive goods. There they bartered for copper ingots, man- 
ufactured in the mines of the wild and desolate country, 
known as Katnaga. Local craftsmen or "Fundis," slaves 
of the King of Lunda, and to his governors, or "Ka- 
zembes," extracted the ore and melted the copper in 
small furnaces about four feet high; these were made of 
clay, and thousands of them have been found in the wilds 
of the copper districts. The workings, returned travel- 
ers say, are extensive; remains of a large underground 

240 



THE CONGO COLONY 

gallery, and open air quarries more than one hundred feet 
deep have been discovered. The export for 1919 was 
25,000 tons; that for 1920 will, it is promised, be up- 
wards of 40,000 tons. 

In Mr. D. L. Blount's very comprehensive report 
("Belgium's Recovery," Jan., 1920) we read — "The eco- 
nomic future of the Belgian Congo, eighty times as large 
as Belgium proper, is so great as to make all speculation 
seem paltry. It combines a considerable wealth of the 
most valuable ores, metals and diamonds, with unlim- 
ited agricultural possibilities, enormous forests and about 
nine thousand four hundred miles of easily navigable riv- 
ers, of which hve thousand are already provided with 
regular and efficient steamboat service. Trade in the 
Belgian Congo is free to all. Business can be carried on 
by private individuals or by corporations created in the 
Colony, in Belgium or in a foreign country. The num- 
ber of trading houses, stores, and branch offices opened 
by European and American traders is rapidly increasing. 
The total number of these establishments in 1915, which 
was 1252, rose to 1332 in the following year. The for- 
eign trade exclusive of goods in transit was £4,690,648 in 
imports for 1915, and more than three times that amount 
in the following year, while exports were £14,398,962 in 
1915, and twice that figure in 1916. The imports con- 
sisted of cotton textiles, steamers, engines, railroad 
equipment, machinery, building material, shoes, cloth- 

241 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

ing and beverages. The products of the Belgian Congo 
are mostly of vegetable origin but copper, palm oil, copal 
gum, rubber, cocoa, gold, diamonds [to Antwerp for 
home consumption] and ivory are being exported in in- 
creasing quantities. The output of cotton in 1919 was 
3,000 bales. — In 1920 it had increased to 10,000 bales. 

"In the beginning of 1919, there were thirteen hundred 
miles of railroad in operation, and it is possible to go by 
train and steamer from the upper Congo to Cape Town 
in South Africa, or to Beira in the Portuguese Mozam- 
bique or across the Erstwhile German East Africa to the 
Indian Ocean. A new railroad to connect the lower 
Congo near the Atlantic Coast with a point on the Eliz- 
abethville-Bukama line in the Southeastern section of 
the Colony in the Province of Katanga is now contem- 
plated. Here are rich mining works of copper, iron, tin, 
gold and diamonds, all awaiting exploitation." 

The possession of the Congo territory, unduly large 
as it is for such a small nation as Belgium, does not, it 
seems, in any way satisfy Belgian aspirations and ambi- 
tions. In China, it is declared, the Belgians possess fifty 
or more valuable concessions. In sight of these the in- 
come from the Congo must seem infinitesimal, for they 
mean immensely valuable orders for Belgian manufac- 
turers of steel rail, engines and rolling stock. It is said 
that Belgian concessions exist at both Hankow and Ti- 
entsin, and that these are not disturbed by the war ex- 

242 



THE CONGO COLONY 

cept in so far as Belgium has been unable to take ad- 
vantage of them. M. de Haulleville thinks that "Col- 
onization is the only safety of the communities upon 
whom their very prosperity inflicts plethora." 

The Belgians, if let alone, certainly have shown the 
world that they are competent to carry out their own de- 
velopment. This should not excite adverse criticism in 
their neighbors so long as it remains clear that they are 
carrying out in their own way their own legitimate busi- 
ness, and are not making themselves the tools of any one, 
admirable people, admirable country — "Salut!" 



243 



Jlottt, and %nm 

dWfttttmtm 

®^ N Belgium, there is a society for the encouragement 
II and exploration of almost everything. Every day 
^^ in the year, a parade of some organization or other 
takes place, and invariably is headed by a band of musi- 
cians, the leader bearing aloft a lavishly decorated pole 
upon which is strung an array of wreaths and medals. 
Flags and banners, the latter frequently of most exquisite 
embroidery and high artistic merit, are common in these 
processions. Orders of decoration are much worn in 
daily life. Nearly every other man one meets wears 
some sort of ribbon or button in his lapel. Yet one is 
assured that the higher decorations are only bestowed by 
the crown for extreme services to the State or the people. 

In 1920 Belgium is to celebrate her ninetieth year of 
independence. 

The Primate of Belgium [the heroic Cardinal Mercier] 
receives as salary the sum of £840 [four thousand two 
hundred dollars] per annum. 

There are three Royal Academies of art, i. e., Antwerp, 
Brussels and Liege. 

The Belgian Foreign office each year sends abroad a 

244 



NOTES, AND SOME CHARACTERISTICS 

number of bright young men who win the traveling schol- 
arships. 

Every Belgian has a conditional right at the age of 
sixty-five to a pension amounting to about two pounds 
ten shillings sterling. 

Vaccination is not compulsory, and it may be had free 
of charge at any of the hospitals. As a rule, it is favored 
by the people. 

There is great mineral wealth in Belgium. Over three 
hundred coal pits are worked, yielding more than sixteen 
million tons of coal. Iron, lead, copper, zinc, marble, 
and building stone are mineral products of the little 
country. 

Liege is the Pittsburgh of the low country. The popu- 
lation, seven millions, averages more than six hundred to 
the square mile. The inhabitants consist of two separate 
races, differing widely in both language and customs. 
The people of the western and northern provinces are 
Flemish, speaking what may be called a low German dia- 
lect, greatly resembling Dutch. However, every edu- 
cated Fleming speaks French, which is the language of 
the higher and middle classes. The people of the east- 
ern and southern parts of the Kingdom are the Walloons. 
[Pronounced Wal-ons, from Walla, Strange] a Gallic 
sect, who speak a patois of French. There is a strange 
and well pronounced antipathy between the Flemings 
and the Walloons, sometimes leading to violent quarrels 

245 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

at fairs and on market days, when they foregather for 
trade. 

The Walloons form somewhat less than half of the 
population of Belgium. 

The dominating religion is Roman Catholic. 

The Protestants number only about fifteen thousand. 

There are only about three thousand Jews in the coun- 
try, and these enjoy all rights and privileges. 

The Flemish tongue has remained unaltered in charac- 
ter during centuries of Spanish, Austrian and French 
domination, but it is only since the year 1840 that schol- 
ars and societies have striven to procure its introduction 
into the higher political and social circles of the King- 
dom. The movement was instigated by J. F. Willems 
in 1840, and was carried on enthusiastically by Ph. Blom- 
mers, Hendrik Conscience, Emil Hiel, Max Rooses, Pol 
de Mont, Agustus, August Vermeylen, and Styn Stren- 
vels whose names are inseparably connected with the 
Flemish movement. [Vlaamsche Beweging.] It was 
not until 1883 that Flemish was re-introduced inrp the 
schools, and in 1888 a knowledge of Flemish was made 
obligatory for the military officers. 

While it is stated that all religions are permitted en- 
tire freedom in Belgium, the State religion is that of the 
Church of Rome, and it is expressly stipulated in the Con- 
stitution that the Sovereign must be a Roman Catholic. 

246 



NOTES, AND SOME CHARACTERISTICS 

It is said that this clause was waived in the case of Leo- 
pold I, who, while he married a Roman Catholic, and 
brought up his children in that faith, refused positively 
to change his own religion. 

The Government grants a subsidy to each and every 
church and sect proving that it has a sufficient number 
to justify its existence as an organization. 

The area of Belgium is about 1 1,373 square miles. Its 
greatest breadth from northwest to southeast is 175 miles. 
Its coast line on the Channel is about forty-five miles. 

Belgium was the first continental nation to establish 
a railway, and in proportion to her area she has now a 
greater mileage of railways than any other country. 

Hendrick Conscience wrote the romances of which 
Flanders and the Flemish people are intensely proud. 
His "Lion of Flanders" [Leeuw Van Vlaanderen] is not 
only the most popular book with the people, but it ideal- 
izes for all time the thoughts and longings of the whole 
Flemish race. It has been called the Flemish Bible. 

Ledeganck is the poet whose ballads are sung and re- 
cited from one end of Flanders to the other. 

The Fleming is of very simple habits, somewhat re- 
stricted in his views, has very strong feelings, and a ca- 
pacity for intense devotion to his convictions. 

The Walloon is much given over to free thought and 
skepticism. He is not a servant of the church, and is 

247 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

politically quite beyond its control. The Walloons are 
the chief supporters and producers of the advanced Lib- 
erals and the Socialists. 

According to law the names of the streets and the 
towns, and all public notices displayed in them, must 
be printed in the two languages, Flemish and French, in 
the five provinces in which Flemish is spoken. Although 
after 1830 the Flemish language was ostracized, in the 
last fifty years it has gained a position of equality with 
French as the official language of Belgium. The Wal- 
loons, however, protest vehemently against the waste of 
time and uselessness of learning a language never used 
or heard in Wallonia. 

Both Fleming and Walloon women are comely and at- 
tractive, always neat in dress and well shod. The 
women of Wallonia are perhaps the better in disposition. 

It should be remembered that Belgium as a nation 
dates only from the year 1830. 

It was at a performance of the opera "Muette de Por- 
tici," by Massaniello in Brussels, that the smoldering 
discontent of the people burst into flame on the 
night of August 25th, 1830, and resulted in Belgian 
freedom. 

The full name of the King is Albert Leopold Clement 
Maria Meinrad. He was born April 8th, 1875. The 
name of the Crown Prince is Leopold. The Crown Prin- 
cess is named Marie Jose. The Oueen is named Eliza- 

248 



NOTES, AND SOME CHARACTERISTICS 

beth, and before her marriage was a Bavarian Grand 
Duchess. When the Queen was here in America, every 
one who met her was charmed by her graciousness and un- 
affected manner. Her tactfulness in meeting and con- 
versing with the various people who were presented to 
her was noted as most extraordinary. She seemed never 
at a loss for something pleasant or kindly to say to even 
the least distinguished of those who sought her notice. 
But though unaffected in manner, Her Majesty is in 
every way a Queen ! She carried herself during the cere- 
monies with the greatest dignity and grace ; clad in beau- 
tifully designed garments of white, her graceful head 
enveloped in a white veil, one noticed that she moved 
through the many wearisome functions, which must have 
been most irksome to one of her sensitive temperament, 
with the greatest tactfulness and patience. 

It is not generally known that the Queen is a great stu- 
dent of medicine, a scholar in fact, honored by many 
degrees from famous universities, but she still finds time 
for both music, of which she is passionately fond, and 
poetry. The painters of Brussels and Antwerp know 
her as an enthusiastic and sustaining patron of their 
yearly exhibitions, and to her efforts is due the revival 
and success of Flemish lace making, now in Bruges. Her 
charities are enormous. What wonder then when she 
appears in the streets of the Flemish towns the peasants 
and the people hail her as Saint as well as Queen. We 

249 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Americans are accused of being a heedless and forgetful 
race, but we will not, I think, soon forget Elizabeth, 
Queen of the Belgians. 

Belgium is a constitutional State with safeguards 
against absolutism. The King's powers are strictly cir- 
cumscribed by the Constitution. Sons of the King be- 
come members of the Senate at the age of eighteen, but 
have no vote until the age of twenty-five. No citizen 
may become a senator before the age of forty. In the 
Senate in the period before the outbreak of the world war, 
were ninety-five Catholics, thirty-four Socialists and two 
Catholic Democrats. 

The Socialists manifested great power in the last elec- 
tion (November, 1919). 

The Belgian Constitution, drafted in a time of great 
emergency, has only required modification in matters 
which the increase in population and the march of demo- 
cratic events rendered necessary, because it was based 
upon principles of comprehension and unfettered liberty. 
The only serious internal trouble in the seventy odd 
years of her national history was the general strike in 
1893, and the disorders of 1899. Before the outbreak of 
the world war in 1914, the Socialists' demands became in- 
creasingly emphatic. They demanded State support 
of all children attending schools; the Freedom of Justice; 
the State to assume and bear all costs ; salaries, maximum 
and minimum, as well, the hours of labor to be fixed by 

250 



NOTES, AND SOME CHARACTERISTICS 

law and scheduled; all mines and forests to be public 
property and worked for the people's benefit. 

M. Vandervelde, the Socialist leader at the time, is re- 
ported to be a very wealthy man, and some of his oppon- 
ents suggested that he carry out his theories by dividing 
his property among the people. 

That the working people understand very little of 
what it is all about, may be gathered from the following 
anecdote: In 1893 during the strikes in the "Borinage" 
(the coal mine district), the miners were instructed to 
send delegates to Charleroi to bring back Universal Suf- 
frage. Accordingly (says the story), each woman pro- 
vided herself with a bag or basket, and set out. When 
they reached Charleroi, and assembled before the Cham- 
ber, some one asked why they carried the bags and bas- 
kets, and they replied — "Why, to carry back the Uni- 
versal Suffrage of course." (S. U.) 

The King is most enthusiastic over his visit to Amer- 
ica, where he found everywhere interest in, and sympathy 
for Belgium. Upon his arrival in Brussels after his re- 
turn, he said — "I was much impressed by the strong na- 
tional feeling which was evident in the United States. 
America is conscious of sentiments of solidarity connect- 
ing her with other peoples, and it is impossible to imagine 
her leaving Europe to its destinies. It is for us to use 
best our intelligence and forces to seize the opportunities 
which the immense possibilities offer." 

251 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

The Belgian Government has undertaken a vast pro- 
ject for reclaiming the devastated farm lands in the bat- 
tle zone. The farms will be taken over from their own- 
ers and worked under the latest scientific principles and 
then return to them in first class condition. Owners 
are to be paid 5 per cent, interest on the pre-war valua- 
tion of the property during operation by the Govern- 
ment, which, however, is prepared to purchase outright 
the land in the event owners do not desire to keep the 
farms. King Albert will fix the limit of the operation of 
the project, which is designed merely to hasten, in the na- 
tional interest, the restoration of the vast territory laid 
waste by shellfire. 

The newspaper, La Libre Belgique, enjoys great pop- 
ularity. When the Germans occupied Belgium the 
newspapers ceased publication; the newspaper men knew 
that the papers would be controlled by the enemy and 
they refused to aid in the circulation of German "news" 
and German propaganda. As a result, the Germans un- 
dertook the publication of their own organs. The Bel- 
gians refused to read them and were apparently left with- 
out any source of information and news, — when, as if 
by magic, they had a paper of their own placed in their 
hands. This was La Libre Belgique. It published not 
only the news but the writings of distinguished Belgian 
authors, the works of the cleverest and keenest cartoon- 
ists; the words of encouragement and inspiration by Car- 

252 



NOTES, AND SOME CHARACTERISTICS 

dinal Mercier; the King; and Belgium's patriotic lead- 
ers. The paper reached every part of Belgium and came 
into the hands of every Belgian. It was one of the 
strongest influences for patriotism and cheerful endur- 
ance of privation that Belgians had during the war. 

In November, 1919, the names of men "sentenced to 
death in their absence," were posted officially in the 
Grand' Place at Brussels. The names thus posted by the 
public executioner on the walls of the town hall, were 
those of the directors and editors of Le Bruxellois, the 
pro-German paper published in Belgium during the Ger- 
man occupation. The patriotic Belgians had so many 
brilliant examples of heroism by their writers and print- 
ers during the war that they must have felt something of 
a regret that the laws of Belgium prevented the actual 
execution of these traitors to their country. 

How La Libre Belgique always managed to come out 
became a fascinating mystery that was never told until 
after the Germans were driven out. General Von Bis- 
sing, of hated memory, made every possible effort to sup- 
press the publication. Spies were sent to trap the pub- 
lishers ; rewards were offered for the arrest of the editors, 
publishers and distributors. But La Libre Belgique was 
not the only paper published in defiance of the Germans 
and secretly put into circulation in Belgium. There 
were many others; among them were L'Independence. 
That was driven from Ghent to Ostende ; the Metropole, 

253 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

suppressed time after time at Antwerp, and the Nation 
Beige, forced to Havre for publication, but nevertheless 
widely circulated in Belgium. Courage and patriotism 
were required in all of these enterprises; the newspaper 
men of Belgium with the exception of those possibly con- 
nected with the detested he Bruxellois, met the test, re- 
fusing all offers of employment by the enemy and risk- 
ing their lives in clandestinely publishing and circulating 
their papers as a patriotic duty. They were true, not 
only to their national but to the worthy and fine tradi- 
tions of the Press of the World. "Salut !" 



254 



Wtomm of SWpn 

154 T is not eighty-eight years since Leopold I, grand- 
1 1 father of King Albert, made his state entry into the 
^^ Belgian capital, and ascended the throne, after the 
Belgians had emancipated themselves by their successful 
uprising from the thralldom of William I of Holland, to 
whom they had been most arbitrarily turned over, sorely 
against their will, by the decree of the Congress of Vienna 
in 1815. Since then, on July 21st, the Belgians have 
celebrated enthusiastically this anniversary as their na- 
tional birthday. There can be no disguising the fact that 
amid all their rejoicing, on this 21st of July, 1919, over 
the termination of the war, there is in Belgium a keen 
sense of disappointment on the part of the people at the 
treatment which they have received at the hands of the 
Entente at the Peace Conference at Paris. It is perhaps 
necessary to explain just what this means to them. The 
Belgians are resentful because of the very general impres- 
sion which prevails among the people of America, as well 
as among the British and the French, that the Belgians 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

have been so generously dealt with in a financial way, 
during the war, and since its ending, that they have no 
manner of right to complain if their territorial claims have 
failed to receive the attention to which they are entitled. 

The Belgians claim that there is great misunderstand- 
ing on the subject of the generosity of the Powers of the 
Entente. They point out the universal belief abroad, 
that when the United States and England sent food to 
Belgium by the shipload, to save the Belgians from star- 
vation, after they had been robbed by the Germans of 
every vestige of sustenance, these shiploads of food- 
stuffs, so ably distributed by Hoover, were gifts to the 
starving Belgians, called forth by our profound pity. 
This was by no means the fact. All the food thus con- 
tributed was paid for by the Belgian Government, not in 
cash, but by means of promissory notes, signed by the 
Belgian Plenipotentiaries in the United States, which 
notes still remain as obligations upon which the Govern- 
ment is paying interest at six per cent. 

The United States, France, and Great Britain ad- 
vanced to Belgium the sum of one billion dollars, be- 
tween August, 1914 and November, 1918. This sum 
spent in the maintenance of the Belgian army, upon 
which Belgium has been paying six per cent, to the 
United States, but not to either France or England, has 
now been cancelled in the sense that the three powers con- 
cerned are taking in liquidation thereof, a billion dollars' 

256 



ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE 

worth of obligations signed by Germany, and forming 
part of the total amount which she has undertaken to turn 
over to the Allies in payments to be spread over a term of 
years in the form of war indemnity or reparation. Due 
to the insistence of President Wilson, Belgium is to re- 
ceive the sum of $500,000,000 in gold from the first 
money paid by Germany, before the first of May, 1921, 
and this money is to be used in redeeming the face amount 
of the so-called interprovincial bonds, which were issued 
in order to enable the cities, towns and villages to pay 
the extortionate fines imposed by the Germans. It is un- 
derstood, however, that these fines will only be paid pro- 
vided Germany lives up to the terms of the treaty of 
peace. It is not generally known that during the Ger- 
man occupation, the military Governors seized every cent 
of Belgian money, and on the retreat of the army, left in 
the Belgian banks nearly two billions of German marks 
in lieu thereof. This virtually represents the total sum 
of Belgian assets. 

The circulation of this German currency is forbidden 
in Belgium. It is not legal tender, and owing to the de- 
preciation of German paper money, it is unsalable and 
doomed to remain in the Belgian banks, bearing not one 
cent of interest, until it has eventually been disposed of 
by means of commerce and trade with Germany. 

The Belgians are most bitterly disappointed at the lack 
of encouragement by American, French and British mer- 

257 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

chants and financiers and the producers of raw and man- 
ufactured materials to grant extended credits to Belgian 
industry and trade. The result of which is that lacking 
this official encouragement from America, and its allies, 
these foreign merchants are loath to engage in business 
with the Belgian producers except upon a strictly cash 
basis. 

The Germans, meanwhile, are delaying in every pos- 
sible way the restoration of the machinery which they 
stole during the war, and removed to Germany, with the 
result that many of the great industrial centers like Liege 
and Mons, which were stripped bare, remain in enforced 
idleness. 

Naturally Belgium is demanding that to her shall be 
accorded a guarantee of protection against a recurrence 
of German invasion. This is the least that can be done 
for Belgium, who sacrificed herself in endeavoring to ob- 
serve faithfully the neutrality which had been guaran- 
teed to her by solemn treaty. The Entente has so far 
neglected to rectify the frontiers of Belgium, and to 
satisfy her natural territorial aspirations in such a way 
as to assure the military and economic safety of the King- 
dom. Limburg, the Dutch Province on the East, still re- 
mains a source of anxiety to her, and an obstacle to Bel- 
gium's access by rail, or by the projected canal, to the in- 
dustrial districts of the Rhine, and the Peace Congress 
has left the Flemish territory on the south bank of the 

258 



ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE 

Scheldt in the possession of Holland, which thus retains 
the absolute control of the mouth of the River Scheldt, by 
means of which access to Antwerp at any time can be cut 
off at pleasure of the Netherlands. The opening of this 
river is vital to the economic welfare and interests of Bel- 
gium. In the name of freedom and justice Belgium de- 
mands it. It is the leas I; that can be granted to her for 
her heroic sacrifice. 

The recent discovery that the Army of Holland now 
exceeds that of Germany has caused some excitement in 
Belgium and France, and even some of the Dutch news- 
papers are suggesting that it is too great an expense and 
tax upon the nation, now that war is at an end. But on 
the other hand, the Dutch themselves are vain and boast- 
ful of this powerful fighting force. Because of the dis- 
pute with Belgium over the question of the absolute free- 
dom of the Scheldt, the Dutch evince entire willingness 
to fight the Belgians at any moment. Very naturally 
the threat against Limburg causes annoyance to the Hol- 
landers. They will entertain no suggestion as to giving 
up territory which they regard as entirely Dutch. The 
contention of Belgium that the land extending along 
their eastern frontier makes possible a fresh invasion by 
Germany certainly is plausible, considering the fact that 
it was so used during the war, although as a matter of 
fact, Germany got more trouble than advantage through 
their use of it. 

259 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

The question of Dutch control over the mouth of the 
Scheldt [1920], while it affects less territory, is sup- 
ported by much more practical argument. Certainly, 
weighing all these questions, the unprejudiced onlooker 
finds much to be said on both sides of the disagreement, 
but the one fact in favor of which nothing can be said is 
war between the two nations. The Dutch point out with 
great earnestness the fact that the Netherlands rendered 
great services to Belgian refugees during the whole pe- 
riod of the war, and think they have reason to complain 
of Belgian ingratitude. Against this, Belgium occupies 
to-day a position which would make it very difficult for 
any nation involved in hostilities against her, to gain any 
sympathy whatever. Should Belgian cities be bom- 
barded, it is hard to see just what the Netherlands could 
gain that would compensate them for all that they would 
lose. Aside from these considerations, war should be out 
of the question between two civilized nations such as 
Holland and Belgium, two of the most highly cultured 
nations of the world. The Belgians have learned all the 
horrors that can be named. The Dutch have had it at 
their very door for years. Neither can have any illusions 
as to what war means. 

In view of such solution, it is surprising that a States- 
man of the caliber of Dr. Abraham Kuypers, who is one 
of the most representative of Dutchmen, and generally 
most conservative and moderate in speech, should vehe- 

260 



ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE 

mently complain that Belgium now maintains embassies 
to the Great Powers, thereby obtaining diplomatic ad- 
vantage over the Netherlands, ignoring the fact that Bel- 
gium has achieved this distinction as a reward for the 
"heroism of its King and its suffering people, whose fair 
land was invaded and devastated. Forgetting likewise 
that Holland waxed fat and prosperous by trade with 
Germany, while Belgium lay torn and bleeding under 
the heel of the war lord "whom they were furnishing 
with food and material to continue the war." 



261 



Sir %Mm (Jorattation 

^^^N February 7th, 1831, the Constitution was pre- 
fl&ff sented to the National Congress and unani- 

^■^ mously accepted. It is remarkable for proclaim- 
ing and establishing the complete liberty of the whole 
Belgian people, decreeing freedom of education, con- 
science, all rights of meeting and liberty of the Press. 
No such complete instrument was in existence anywhere 
in Europe, and even now, after the lapse of eighty-nine 
years, no very material change in it has been rendered 
necessary, except some minor alterations in 1894, relat- 
ing to the extension of the electoral vote, which were in- 
troduced and adopted. That is to say that the Consti- 
tution itself remained substantially unchanged, while a 
remarkable alteration was introduced, relating to the 
qualification and number of the Electorate. In 1900 
came the need of a second consideration, and a change 
which was simply the modification of the Electoral Law 
to the extent of subjecting the results of any election to a 
process of proportional representation for the protection 
of minorities. (Demetriess C. Boulger.) 

The Belgian Constitution provided that the Govern- 

262 



THE BELGIAN CONSTITUTION 

ment of the country should be formed by a king, a senate, 
and a chamber of representatives. The King to be a 
constitutional sovereign with defined powers, but with 
the throne hereditary in the male line of his family. The 
senate to consist of seventy-six elected members, and 
twenty-six nominated by the provincial councils, and the 
period of membership to be for eight years. The cham- 
ber to contain one hundred and fifty-two representatives 
elected for a period of four years. No senator to be 
elected under the age of forty. No deputy under the 
age of twenty-five. Pending reelection of members, the 
seats could be declared vacant by the king, on appeal to 
the nation. 

Sons of the king, and princes of the Belgian Royal 
House, become members of the senate by right of birth at 
the age of eighteen, but are not voters until the age of 
twenty-five. Before the revision of 1894, electors' quali- 
fications were established by Article XLVII, as follows — 
[1] Owners of the sum of Francs 2000, in the Funds; [2] 
Principal owner of a house valued at not less than Fes. 
2,500 in a town, or in a village of Fes. 1,250; [3] Hold- 
ers of diplomas and certificates; [4] Belgians who 
upon reaching their majority, pass an examination. By 
this system the electoral body was both small and exclu- 
sive, and Belgium presented the anomaly of a perfectly 
free country ruled by only the upper class of citizens. 
These qualifications were simplified by the Act of 1893, 

263 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

into the following comprehensive definition: "All Bel- 
gians [male] are entitled to one vote on attaining the age 
of twenty-five, and on having resided in the same com- 
mune for one year." The electorate was thus increased 
so as to include the larger half of the nation. 

Important modifications and additions were also intro- 
duced into the system in 1894, that will require some 
fuller explanation. The revision of this year contained 
and covered a wider ground than the qualification of the 
electorate, although its salient feature was the extension 
of the franchise. The first constitution related exclu- 
sively to Europe, and had not contemplated the possibil- 
ity of Belgian colonies beyond the sea. The formation 
of the Congo State altered the position and a new ar- 
ticle was introduced to the effect that the garrisons of 
such possessions must be composed of volunteers. A sec- 
ond article strengthened the hands of the Sovereign by 
providing that the Prince who weds without the King's 
consent should forfeit all rights. The payment of mem- 
bers of the representative chamber, rendered necessary 
by its being more Democratic, was fixed at Francs 4,000 a 
5'ear, with privileges of railway travel. The senators re- 
mained unpaid, but have the same railway privileges as 
the last named. The most important change was the ad- 
dition of the plural vote, which formed the most striking 
feature of the revision of 1894. Up to that date the 
Belgian citizen had but one vote. There were then 137,- 

264 



THE BELGIAN CONSTITUTION 

772 voters, and the Socialists vehemently demanded uni- 
versal suffrage — one man, one vote — the concession of 
which it was feared would sweep away the established 
political landmarks. So long as the great majority had 
no vote, it was useless to assure the people that they oc- 
cupied the freest country in Europe. Something had to 
be done to satisfy them; at the same time it was clear that 
the old exclusive system could not longer be maintained. 

Then in the Spring of 1893, M. Beernaert pronounced 
his resolution in favor of the establishment of the plural 
vote. It found favor at once. This resolution removed 
the property qualification, gave every male Belgian a 
vote at the age of twenty-five, specifying also additional 
and extra votes for certain qualifications, which either 
doubled or trebled the voting power of the wealthy and 
educated class, and provided a safeguard against Social- 
ism. For the time being this satisfied popular opinion 
and at the same time allaye-d the well founded fears of 
society. This resolution became a law in April, 1894, 
and was carried by the overwhelming majority of 1 19 to 
14. 

To make the matter clear to the reader. Each Belgian 
citizen reaching the age of twenty-five, was entitled to 
one vote in any commune in which he had lived for one 
full year. One extra vote was allotted to every elector 
at the age of thirty-five, provided that he was married or 
if a wido'wer, he had legitimate children. Also provided 

265 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

that he paid a tax [personal] of 5 francs, or was exempt 
from such by reason of his profession. Two extra votes 
were given to any elector, who was proprietor of an es- 
tate with a minimum revenue of 48 francs, or who had an 
investment in State Stock, or State Savings Bank pro- 
ducing annually the sum of 100 francs. Two extra votes 
were given to the elector who held certain diplomas, 
specified, or who held Government office or certain pro- 
fessional positions, but the maximum number of votes un- 
der any heads is three. The new law also made voting 
obligatory so that all elections must be decided by a full 
poll. M. Beernaert soon discovered that the conse- 
quences of this law were not what he had anticipated. 
He had conceived it as a liberal measure which would 
operate to diminish the power of the Catholic Right, and 
thus lead to the more equal distribution of political power 
between the parties, and finally strengthen the Liberal 
Center. It did nothing of the sort. The Catholic Gov- 
ernment is still in power after twenty-four years and the 
hopes of establishing a strong Central party between it 
and the Socialists have increased in number and power. 
Under date of February 3, 1920, it was reported that 
the Belgian Senate had annulled the election of several 
of the newly elected Socialist Senators, on the ground 
that the Senators did not pay the amount of taxation pre- 
scribed by the Constitution as a qualification for election 
to the Upper House of the Belgian Parliament. 

266 



THE BELGIAN CONSTITUTION 

But the people believe in the King, and his integrity 
and his ability to lead them safely through the problems 
that now confront them. 



267 



^JfcfHE winding river Meuse, which has a total length 
ilJ of five hundred and fifty miles, flows through east- 
^■^ ern Belgium for only about one hundred miles. 
Nevertheless, it must be reckoned as one of the most im- 
portant of Belgian streams, not merely for its singular 
beauty, nor for the importance of the towns on its banks 
which are of the greatest interest commercially as well as 
historically. 

In the early days when the Lys and the Dender slug- 
gishly coursed through the lonely marshes and sandy soli- 
tary stretches of mediaeval Flanders, the lovely valley of 
the Meuse was the busy haunt of the tireless workers and 
keen merchants; and the rocky heights of the river's banks 
were already crowned with the great castles and strong- 
holds of the Austrasian chieftains and nobles ; the robber 
barons of history who dominated the region. 

Far from its source the river enters Belgium just below 
Givet, whence it formed in mediaeval times the recog- 
nized division between the territories of the Count of Na- 
mur and Prince Bishop of Liege. This Belgian portion 
of the Meuse is exceedingly beautiful and picturesque, 

268 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

the vine clad banks rising in lofty and broken walls of 
limestone full of curious caverns which lie at their feet 
squeezed in between river and rock, while the lofty 
summits are clothed in dark luxuriant foliage hiding the 
ruins of many an ancient castle. The valley contains 
now but few traces of the Roman occupation, but of the 
roads built by the Romans, there are many vestiges easily 
discoverable. The great military road leading from 
Boulogne to Cologne, crossed the Meuse at Maestricht. 
The "Trajectus Mosae" of history and the stone bridges, 
blown up by the Germans in the great war just closed, are 
believed to be of Roman foundation. The one at Maes- 
tricht, which was formed of stone piers with its roadway 
laid upon level wooden beams, can certainly claim that 
antiquity. The restoration of these ancient roadways 
was due, says history, to the capable if notorious Mero- 
vingian Queen Brunehault, "the daughter, the sister, the 
mother and the grandmother of kings," who reigned or 
governed in Austrasia for forty-eight years; and these 
roads generally known in Belgium as "Brunhault pave- 
ments," are, as well as any other buildings exceptionally 
strong, great or ancient, usually attributed to her. "It 
was perhaps due to her influence that the Austrasian no- 
bility settled in the valley of the Meuse, which resulted 
in its eventually becoming the cradle of the Carlovingian 
race of kings and a center for the revival of the arts which 
took place later on under Charlemagne." ("Dinande- 

269 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

rie" by J. Tavernor Perry.) Herstal (named for Pepin 
of Heristal) is now a small manufacturing suburb of 
Liege, which famous city owed its origin to the ancient 
stronghold. 

With the coming of the famous son of Pepin, Charle- 
magne, commenced the art history of the Meuse valley, 
and to his care and influence are due the foundation and 
importance of all of the cities and towns that line its 
banks, and when not engaged in his warlike expeditions 
he usually resided in the country of Juliers, between the 
Meuse and the Rhine, in his castle built upon the ruins of 
the Roman town of Aquisgranum, where he founded his 
northern capital, now Aix-la-Chapelle. Here he con- 
structed the great minster which later formed his tomb. 
The inscription reads : 

Aquis granum urbs regalis, 
Sedes Regni Principalis. 

Of these Mosan towns, unfortunate Dinant, although 
neither the oldest nor the most important, for Maestricht, 
Huy and Liege were of far greater consequence, seems to 
have taken the lead, and this was due to the fact that 
apart from the great skill and industry of its inhabitants, 
they were sufficiently far sighted enough to make perma- 
nent connection with the great Hanseatic League, which 
controlled trade with the merchants of Bruges and Col- 
ogne. 

270 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

The present town of Dinant, or what is sadly left of it 
— a heap of ruins wantonly destroyed by the Germans 
when they first entered Belgium — is situated on the right 
bank of one of the most picturesque parts of the upper 
Meuse, just below the point where the little River Lesse 
discharges its pure waters, and sixteen miles above its 
junction with the Sambre. 

It lies at the foot of a lofty limestone cliff, crowned by 
a picturesque dismantled fortress, and is squeezed into a 
narrow space which lies between the base of the rock and 
the river. My picture will give a fair idea of what the 
town looked like before the German soldiers destroyed it. 
The tower with its quaint Flemish bulb is that of Notre 
Dame, which contained the only ancient work that sur- 
vived the ravages of many wars, fire and flood which the 
hapless town had so often suffered. It consisted of a 
nave, with aisles, transepts and a choir and lifted its fan- 
tastic spire as though to rival the great vine clad cliff 
which formed its background. The old town with its 
straggling line of quaint houses along the river bank, had 
many times been rebuilt, and in recent years much mod- 
ernized, while the remarkable old stone bridge had for no 
good reason been demolished and replaced by an incon- 
gruous structure of iron. 

Many laughable tales are related of the amazing sim- 
plicity of the townspeople, who were noted the country 
around for the same sort of foolishness as attaches to the 

271 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

famous wise men of Gotham: the inscription on a stone 
which they caused to be placed at the town side of the an- 
cient bridge is recorded as follows, "This bridge was 
made here." (Ce Pont fut fait ici.) 

The town was famous for its copper work from the very 
earliest times, and although Dinant was not the first town 
identified with copper ware, its product was of such ex- 
cellence that all copper and brass work produced in the 
Netherlands became known as "Dinanderie," much for 
instance as the name Ghent or Gand was perpetuated in 
the French "Gants" and the English "Gauntlet," the 
name "Diaper," which came from Ypres (d'Ypres) and 
the word "Cambric" which was derived from "Cambrai." 
The term "Dinanderie" thus denoted all brass or bronze 
whether beaten or "re-pousse" used for domestic pur- 
poses. An inventory dated 1389 uses -the word in con- 
nection with a "batterye de cuyvre fait a Dynant," and 
also spells the name of the town "Dynon." So it was that 
Dinant and the neighboring Mosan towns, having availed 
of and profited by the art revival under the protection of 
Charlemagne, received all of the credit for the copper 
work which was carried on at Bruges and Antwerp in 
later years after Dinant and its busy factories had ceased 
to exist. 

The people of Dinant in the remote times though most 
industrious were strangely quarrelsome, and the chron- 
icles preserved in the library at Bruges deal with the 

272 







N 






'#;'■'■ 



' 



I 

-ft- >. 



a 



IP 45 



•*■??;? 









'■:'; 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

stupid and most destructive conflict called the "War of 
the Cow," which broke out in the year 1273 between Na- 
mur and Liege and soon involved the people of Dinant, 
who, of course, supported their overlord the Prince 
Bishop of Liege, and also because it gave them an oppor- 
tunity for a "scrap" with Bouvigne, a small rival town on 
the opposite bank of the Meuse. 

Long after the two years of fighting between Liege and 
Namur was settled by the intervention of the King of 
France, the people of Dinant continued the squabble on 
their own account, because during the fight between the 
two rival towns of Namur and Liege, the trade in copper 
had been neglected by Dinant. The people of Bou- 
vigne started a copper factory under their very noses, and 
managed not only to supply the merchants, thus steal- 
ing the business, but also succeeded in "cornering" the 
available supply of the copper metal upon which the pros- 
perity of Dinant depended. Dinant lay within the 
province of the Prince Bishop of Liege, while Bouvigne 
on the opposite bank of the river was under the control 
of the Count of Namur, who was delighted to aid and 
establish within his domain a guild of craftsmen who 
could conduct so lucrative a business as that of the cop- 
persmiths. All of the materials required in the work 
were to be had on the Bouvigne side of the river, and 
furthermore he had the advantage, for the plastic clay 
used by the workmen of Dinant and indispensable to the 

273 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

work in the making of their crucibles and their basic mod- 
els, known as "Derle," could only be found in the hills 
on the Bouvigne side of the river. Thus the already en- 
raged people of Dinant found themselves not only at the 
mercy of a rival colony of workmen powerfully protected, 
who could manufacture a product equal to their own, but 
cut off and deprived of one of the essentials to their pro- 
cess of manufacture. 

Under the action of the Count of Namur, the clay pits 
(Derlieres) at Andoy, Mozel and Maizeroul from which 
the Dinantois had obtained their clay were closed to Din- 
ant, and a monopoly of all other pits that might be after- 
wards opened was given the "Mestier de la baterie de 
Bouvigne." The factories of Dinant were forced to shut 
down and starvation faced the workmen and their fam- 
ilies. 

War faced both the Bishop and the Count, who vainly 
attempted to pacify the people. The two towns built 
great offensive castles ; the Dinantois on their side, Mont 
Orgueil, and the Bouvignes, the great stronghold of 
Crevecourt. Craft now stepped in and it was found that 
Bouvignes had induced some of the starving skilled work- 
men of Dinant to come over to their side by the offer of 
higher pay and better protection. A company of Dinan- 
tois, heavily armed, passed over the bridge to assail and 
destroy the portion of Bouvigne which lay below the cas- 
tle walls, but these men were captured by ambush and 

274 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

their leader, one Pierre Doivre, was taken and hanged in 
an iron cage from the walls of Crevecourt, "where all 
might see." Judge the excitement in Dinant when it 
was discovered that his captor was Guilluame Doivre, a 
half son of the unfortunate man who had turned traitor 
and joined the forces at Bouvigne. 

The matter was reported to the Bishop, who had Guil- 
laume brought before him, and sentenced him "to do pen- 
ance in the Church of Notre Dame at Dinant, and after- 
wards to make a pilgrimage to Cyprus, the island of cop- 
per. 

From the Chronicles we learn that finally Pope Urban 
VI endeavored, with ill success, to arrange some sort of 
basis for peace between the towns, but Bouvigne further 
aggravated the Dinantois by erecting strong fortifications 
on the river bank directly opposite Mont Orgueil, but 
Dinant then engaged in another squabble with the other 
towns in revolt against the Bishop of Liege. Let the 
matter rest, for Jean Sans Peur, the Duke of Burgundy 
coming to the assistance of the Bishop defeated the in- 
surgent towns, with terrible results for Dinant, for it was 
heavily fined, its great castle and all of its defenses razed, 
and fifty of its leading merchants taken and interned at 
Arras as hostages of peace. 

Notwithstanding such a warning the Dinantois con- 
tinued in their quarrel. Someness, the Count of Namur, 
in 1421, tiring of battle, transferred his entire rights and 

275 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

title to the country over to the Duke of Burgundy, and 
when again war broke out between the famous malcon- 
tents on the Meuse, the coleric Dinantois were confronted 
by the heavy jawed Philip le Bon, who showed no mood 
to temporize with them. They failed to remember, or 
disregarded, Philip's notoriously ruthless dealing with 
his own turbulent towns, and failed to appreciate the fact 
that he would be little disposed to show any leniency or 
consideration towards a town with such a reputation as 
Dinant. 

The inevitable happened. With a great show of bold- 
ness they made a close alliance with Liege, Huy, St. 
Trond and Tongres, and with the assistance of German 
mercenaries they made a new attack upon Bouvigne, but 
the castle of Crevecourt resisted all their efforts to take 
it. So after a truce which existed several years, a "per- 
manent" peace was signed, which lasted just two years, 
and in spite of all their foolish failures and losses, they 
once more took up arms against Bouvigne. This ex- 
asperated Philip, who, discovering that the Prince Bishop 
of Liege had so little control over them, took over their 
punishment, sending an army of thirty thousand men un- 
der the leadership of the Count of Charleroi. 

The fiery Dinantois received the Count's advance mes- 
sengers whom he sent to command them to surrender and 
lay down their arms, by hanging them on the walls of 
the castle, whereupon the Count's army "besieged and 

276 






DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

captured the town and castle in three days, after which 
the town was pillaged and burned, eight hundred of the 
inhabitants were tied in couples and drowned in the river, 
and the remainder were driven off to exist as best they 
might." Dinant was done for as a place of importance 
— it never recovered. Many of its skilled workmen 
went to Flanders, and there started the great manufac- 
tories of Tournai, Bruges and Antwerp, localities that 
afterwards became famous for the art of "Dinanderie." 
Some of the masters of the craft fled to Huy (pronounced 
Whee) lower down the Meuse where, allied by kinship, 
they remained. Others found refuge at Liege and at 
Namur, but with the fall of Dinant the art ceased to exist 
in the Walloon country, and the ring of the master arti- 
san's hammer on the banks of the Meuse, fashioning those 
wondrous art objects in copper, the despair and the de- 
light of the modern workman, was never more heard. A 
relic of the trade remained at the outbreak of the great 
war, in the "coques" or flat cakes of honey and flour of 
similar shape to the old copper plaques, decorated with 
figures of fruit, birds or flowers, so common in the shops 
of the old town. 

The tower of the old Gothic church dating from the 
Thirteenth Century, now destroyed, was over two hun- 
dred feet high. The baptistry on the right of the nave 
was noteworthy, belonging to an earlier church destroyed 
in the year 1227 by the fall of a great granite bowlder 

277 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

from the cliff under which the building stood. The font 
of copper was made in the Twelfth Century, a beautiful 
piece of "Dinanderie." Behind the high altar was an 
ancient small one dedicated to St. Perpetus, Bishop of 
Tongres in the Sixth Century, whose tomb was beneath it. 

The Town Hall was formerly the residence of the 
Prince Bishops, and was built by Joseph Clement of Ba- 
varia in 1637, as was indicated by the following chrono- 
gram over the doorway facing the river: "Pax et Salus, 
ne Ultra Litaterri Servantibus Detur." The mad 
painter, Anton Wertz, was born here, and some of his 
paintings were hung in the building. 

The unthinkable destruction visited upon this charm- 
ing little town at the very beginning of the war, was 
plainly intended as an object lesson to the people of the 
purpose of Germany to lay in waste any obstruction in 
the pathway to victory. The story is briefly told as fol- 
lows: 

There was no resistance whatever offered by the peo- 
ple of Dinant that misty afternoon in July, when the 
advance of the cavalry appeared on the river road be- 
neath the tall cliff, where a few of the townspeople were 
gathered in the old dismantled fortress on the crag over- 
looking the town. The bell in the quaint bulbous tower 
of the old church was ringing out a warning tocsin of the 
coming of the German hordes. There was no thought 
of resistance in the minds of the people. The Mayor 

278 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

of Dinant had posted a proclamation counseling them 
to remain calm and refrain from any act calculated to af- 
front the soldiery. No flags were flying in the town, 
save that over the door of the Town Hall. Soon a con- 
siderable body of cavalry entered the small square where 
they dismounted. These were followed by a regiment, 
which passed along the road without halting and dis- 
appeared from view. 

The Colonel in command of the cavalry at once de- 
manded the presence of the Mayor to whom he delivered 
a printed sheet of orders for food and shelter for the 
cavalry and stabling and fodder for the horses. He also 
handed him a printed proclamation in French and Flem- 
ish addressed to the people, ordering them to remain in- 
doors during certain hours with doors and windows wide 
open, and all firearms to be piled before each door on 
pain of punishment for any concealment or infraction of 
the orders. A plainly written list of the number of peo- 
ple in each house was ordered attached to the house doors. 
The Mayor was ordered to furnish the Colonel with a 
complete list of the leading citizens with a statement of 
the amount of their properties in francs. These men 
were to immediately present themselves before the Colo- 
nel in the public square. 

This order was immediately carried out, and thirty- 
five merchants presented themselves before the German 
Colonel, who addressed them brusquely and read from 

279 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

a printed sheet directions as to their conduct and behavior 
during the occupation of the town, and to pay over to the 
Colonel a large amount of money as security. This sum 
was raised among them and paid within the hour. The 
merchants were then placed under guard and locked up 
in the cellar of the Town Hall as hostages. 

The cavalry bivouacked in the small square before the 
old church where large bonfires were lighted; pickets 
were posted on all roads crossing the River Meuse, and 
night fell. About nine o'clock some shots were heard 
from the cliff above the town, the alarm was sounded and 
there was great activity among the troopers in the square 
who promptly began to use the rapid fire guns all along 
the roads and lanes. German soldiers entered the 
houses, and some of them threw hand grenades among 
the terrified people who fled away in the darkness. Fires 
broke out in the old houses along the river front and the 
flames spread rapidly. German soldiers were seen 
throwing petroleum torches into the open windows of the 
houses. All through the night the firing continued, and 
when morning broke fire was raging in the long line of 
old houses on the river bank. The Colonel ordered the 
thirty-five citizens to be brought before him and a sort 
of trial was held. Three of the cavalrymen had been 
shot and killed when the firing began from the hill top, 
it was claimed. One of the men who had been caught 
by the soldiers with a rifle in his possession was produced. 

280 



(tmtitmnllf &wt«lj ■ 







_J 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

He denied that he had fired a shot. He was ordered 
executed at once. This sentence was carried out a hun- 
dred yards from where the Colonel sat in the square. 
The body was left lying where it fell. All the towns- 
people were lined up in the square surrounded by sol- 
diery. The Colonel continued to take evidence from the 
soldiers, who stated that the firing began from the hill- 
top, and was aimed at the troops in the square below. 
It was proved by the evidence then that the peasants had 
fired upon the German soldiers from bushes on the cliff. 
The Colonel read the evidence to the thirty-five citizens 
i — read the terms under which they were held as hostages, 
and ordered them shot at once. Under guard they were 
taken a short distance down the river road and lined up 
against a high yellow stuccoed wall. A file of soldiers 
armed with rifles were marched up; took their places; 
leveled their rifles; and at the word of command, fired 
upon this body of defenseless innocent citizens, and they 
fell martyrs to the German lust for domination. 

The Colonel then withdrew his troops to the hills oppo- 
site Dinant across the Meuse River at Bouvignes and 
aiming his field pieces upon the hapless town already in 
flames, the roadway lined with terrified men, women and 
children, so destroyed it that there now remains but a 
dreary pile of bricks and ashes and half consumed charred 
beams, over which stands the ragged wall of the ruined 
tower of the old church reflected in the choked, swiftly 

281 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

running river. That is all that remains of Dinant, 
Queen of the Meuse. In all probability the town will 
not be rebuilt. It is not worth while. 

This is the region of woods and hills known by the 
name of the Ardennes (See "The Forest of Arden" by 
the present author) extending from the prosperous towns 
of Namur and Liege in the north as far as Luxemburg in 
the southeast, and to the valley of the Semois and the 
French frontier in the west. It is a land which though 
wanting in the grandeur and majesty of the Swiss moun- 
tains, yet possesses a charm all its own, which grows upon 
the traveler. 

The well furnished "tables d'hote" at any of the neat 
inns are a feature of the country. Here will be found 
good fare, and interesting company, and the moderate 
charge will be a surprise. 

The people speak the Walloon dialect, and are en- 
tirely of a different character from their grave and some- 
what sullen neighbors, the Flemings. 

Since 1830, the greater portion of the Ardennes has 
belonged to Belgium, and now according to report 
[1919] the Duchy of Luxemburg is to come under con- 
trol of the crown. It has been a neutral state since 1867. 

At one time the whole of the Ardennes was an im- 
mense forest, taking its name from the two Celtic words 
"Ard" and "Duen" signifying height and depth (allud- 
ing to its height above sea level, and the depth of its 

282 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

forests) . Caesar mentions the forest as stretching from 
east to west, from the Rhine to the Rhone ; so that as Ber- 
thollet remarks : "It stretched over the Archbishoprics of 
Treves, Cologne and Mayence; the Bishoprics of Liege 
and Metz, and Duchies of Lorraine, Luxemburg, Lim- 
burg, Juliers, Brabant ; the counties of Namur, Hainaut, 
Flanders and Artois." 

There was comparatively little left of this great forest 
at the outbreak of the Great War, and even this little has 
been destroyed by the Germans, according to the report 
of the Foresters. 

In the report of the Central Forestry Association of 
Belgium, regarding the deforestation of the country by 
skilled workmen sent into the occupied regions by Ger- 
many, Count Visart de Bocarne, who is the Mayor of 
Bruges as well as the President of the Forestry Associa- 
tion, details the misfortune suffered by Belgium in the 
destruction of her forests once the pride of the kingdom. 

According to the figures given, Belgium's forest area of 
1,299, 450 acres constituted about seventeen per cent, of 
the entire area of the country, while more than one-fourth 
of the former German Empire, and one-third of Saxony, 
Bavaria, Wurtemberg and Baden is in forest. Belgium 
is one of the heaviest lumber consuming nations of the 
world, and in view of this fact, and the needs of her in- 
dustries, these German forests will undoubtedly be 
forced to replace the lumber which Belgium has lost. 

283 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Only long years of careful and skillful work can restore 
the ruined Belgian forests, and he calls attention to the 
fact that climatic changes due to the denudation of vast 
areas may yet cause further damage impossible to esti- 
mate, which will add to the other injuries sustained by the 
kingdom. 

The destruction and deforestation (to the valuation of 
two hundred million dollars) of the occupied territory 
by the professional German foresters sent into Belgium 
during the four years of occupation is really appalling. 
Only a few small areas remain untouched, but it is a 
fact that the trees now standing were only spared because 
the foresters were forced to desist and retreat by the ac- 
ceptance of the armistice before they had completed the 
work upon which they were engaged. The magnificent 
forests of the provinces of Namur, Luxemburg, Liege 
and Hainault are those that have suffered the most. In 
the communes of Forges and Chimay, the great resinous 
tracts belonging to M. F. Beugmann in the regions of the 
Riezes and Escaillere, and that in the commune of Mac- 
quenoise, the property of M. Charles Malengreau, was 
seized and cut down in July, 1916, according to the re- 
port of the Forestry Society, while the exploitation of the 
spruce reserve on the Rivers d'Oise, and in the Fagne, 
both cantons of the town of Chimay, and like- 
wise the reserve of wild white pines in the com- 
mune of Forges was quickly accomplished by the 

284 



■ 
■ 






AtusAO aO *>K> 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

expert enemy foresters. The sixty year old mag- 
nificent group of white pine trees at the entrance of the 
oak groves of the commune of Salles were cut down with- 
out the formality elsewhere observed of sending notice 
of seizure to the municipality. The communes of Se- 
loignies and Forges-Philippe suffered in this way the de- 
struction of their forests of Thierarche. 

The work was done with remarkable thoroughness 
and dispatch, but it required more time and labor to fell 
the splendid forest of spruce trees in the Hautes-Marais. 
These were pronounced to be the most perfect and beau- 
tiful examples of spruce in all Belgium, having been 
planted in 1862 and their tops fairly reaching to the 
clouds, their lower branches being so thickly f oliaged that 
they grew in a semi-twilight, the ground being carpeted 
with a thick cushion of dried needles. Of this beautiful 
forest, the report says, nothing now exists save stumps 
remaining two or more feet above the ground. The 
owner was not indemnified for his loss. A small single 
track Docanville railway was constructed by the devasta- 
tors to transport the logs to the station of Momignies; 
on this a diminutive puffing locomotive pulled to and fro 
a car which loaded at most a couple of cubic meters of 
logs, but the work proceeded with such system and regu- 
larity that the task was soon completed and little re- 
mained of the forest but unsightly stumps. The reason 
why the Thierarche forests suffered more than the region 

285 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

of Fagne is given in the report as being due to the great 
quantity of oaks which were concentrated in the forests 
of the Chimay region, these being better adapted to the 
German needs in their enterprises. 

The great need of the communities' workshops here- 
abouts was white wood used in the manufacture of 
wooden shoes, this industry being the only one in this 
region that continued during the early part of the war. 
The deforesters quickly turned their attention, however, 
to this wood, and on discovering that it had all been sold 
for consumption to the wooden shoe makers, proceeded to 
place every obstacle possible in the way of their using it, 
but for some reason soon turned their attention else- 
where and permitted the industry to continue; this be- 
ing the only local work carried on during the period of 
the war. 

They attacked first the high oak forests of Bouriers 
and Forges, felling the great communal forests in direct 
violation of all rights and conventions. The report 
says that strangely enough, "The frenzied desire to in- 
jure and destroy the forest, to wipe out the forest re- 
serve and resources for the future, this desire, we will 
say, does not appear. Only the large trees fell, and 
enough others were (here) preserved so that the forest 
still has the appearance of high timber of a thin copse." 

It says, "The forest of Monceau-Imbrechies is tra- 
versed from south to north by the road from Monceau to 

286 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

Seloignes, reached by the Seloignes-Monceau railroad 
station. It was one of the richest forests of the region, 
well served by two metaled roads, and situated between 
the railroad station and the locality which comprises 
many makers of wooden shoes, all being circumstances 
which gave value to the various classes of timber. Its 
big oaks, while not all of excellent quality, were known 
far and wide, and offered dimensions not known else- 
where. One of these veterans measured 13% feet at a 
height of five feet (from the ground) and was fifty-three 
feet high; it was named the Big Benefit Oak. Trees 
from six feet to eight feet in diameter were common 
there; those measuring from eight to eleven feet were 
not uncommon, and there were several gauging over 
eleven feet. Groups of beeches, both modern and ancient 
were met with, and distinguished themselves by an 
exceedingly rapid growth. Tall birches and great 
sycamore maples completed this fine high timbered 
forest. 

"To this forest region was given the names of Tailles 
Indre, Benefice, Richots, Mauvais Pas, and Atelier; the 
cuttings dated from 1916 to 1917. Apart from the high 
timber, every thing has disappeared. Secular oaks, 
groups of imposing beeches, tall birches, big maples, 
rooted saplings, staddles, moderns, ancients, super an- 
cients, young cadets, tall timber of young cuttings, re- 
serves of Middle Age stature, and old exploitations — 

287 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

everything was chopped down to within twenty inches 
of the ground and dragged through copses of all ages to 
the roads by the cable worked by a tractor. The copse 
was thus broken, crushed and destroyed. 

"The forest of Imprechies, a section of the same com- 
mune, was cut to the ground. It was stocked with about 
the same growth as that of Monceau, though a little less 
rich in trees. The commune of Bearewelz owned high 
timber on copse less thickly planted than the Monceau 
forests, but of all the great oaks, beeches, birches and 
maples, practically nothing is left." (American Fores- 
try Magazine, July ,1919.) 

Situated on the banks of the Meuse, at the spot where 
the river is joined by the Mehaigne and the Hoyoux, the 
romantic looking town of Huy (pronounced Whee) is 
uniquely and admirably placed. To lovers of antiquity 
Huy has a wealth of attractions. The four "marvels" of 
Huy are: the lovely rose windows of the great tower 
with flamboyant mullions, in Walloon "Rondia"; the 
Bassinia, a curious fountain with basins of chased copper 
(Dinanderie), dated 1407, which adorns the Grand' 
Place; "The Dontia" or bridge, remarkable for its mass- 
iveness, and the old citadel on the heights. 

At the end of the "Promenade" beyond the leafy grove 
is the old abbey of Neufmonstier founded by Pierre 
L'Hermite in the year 1100. This monk's eloquence is 
said to have resulted in the first crusade to the East. In 

288 



DINANT AND THE MOSAN TOWNS 

the crypt, where he was buried, is a statue erected in his 
memory. 

There are many ancient structures here that have sur- 
vived the bitter wars and sackings of the conquerors. 
Here, for instance, is the Refuge of "Batta" beyond the 
bridge, the tales of which would fill volumes, and the 
old Mosan house called the "Trente Six Menages," the 
cellars of which extend far beneath the bed of the river. 
On the right bank is the "Tour d' Oultremont" near the 
Court of Justice. In the valley are huge paper factories, 
and distilleries with chimneys belching forth black smoke ; 
the engines often running both night and day. The 
great square squat citadel on the height above the Cathe- 
dral and the old stone arched bridge are sights never to 
be forgotten. 

The whole region is filled with legend and poetry, and 
one longs to include in this chapter the tale of the Vale 
of "Loregnee"; the castle of "Moha," the seigneurial 
abode of "Fallais," which sheltered Louis XIV; the Ab- 
bey of Val Notre Dame founded in 1202; and in the val- 
ley of the Hoyoux, with its capricious turnings and gurg- 
ling waters, abode of the Ardennes trout, the castle of 
Moldave, and beyond "Amay" the hills of "Courri" ; of 
the "Sarte" and the "Falhize" where wonderful views 
of the "Hesbaye" and "Condroz" are to be had. 

Beyond Huy, the valley widens and on the right is 
"Tihange" hidden away in a forest of fruit trees. Far- 

289 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

ther on is the charming chateau of "la Neuville," and 
then comes "Ombret," where Julius Caesar built a bridge 
for the crossing of the Roman legions. Some vestiges 
of the piers still remain in the river. In this neighbor- 
hood is the great Abbey of Flone, dating from the 
eleventh century. Beyond Clermont is "Ramioul," 
where Godefroid de Bouillon lived; and on the left bank 
the old gray "Castle of Aigremont," placed like a sentry 
over the valley. The Germans touched none of these. 
They remain as they were before the Great War. 



290 



ffift* (glorious gtor? of tjf 

^^HIS little Flemish river, scarcely known outside 
ffllJ the region which it waters, has become forever 
^■^ famous for all that symbolizes patriotism, cour- 
age and endurance. The river borders a now sacred ter- 
ritory, where, for more than four long and bitter years, 
the brave Belgian soldiers erected a rampart with their 
bodies in defense of a man of clear vision and stalwart 
frame, who fought with them, and counseled them, and 
ever encouraged them with brave and truthful words. 
A man, every inch of him, whom the enemy had already 
tauntingly named "the King without a kingdom." 
(Broqueville.) 

From the town of Nieuport to Dixmude and Ypres, 
the flat plains formed on either side of the Yser were 
the scenes of remarkable battles with the invader, the 
details of which are emblazoned upon the colors of the 
Flemish army — the splendid courage and strength of 
the troops which forced their way to the ancient gates 
of Ghent under command of King Albert started from 
the banks of the Yser, after an agonizing struggle of for- 
ty-nine months in which it never for one instant lost its 

291 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

sublime faith in the King. Therefore this little corner 
of Belgium is a national reliquary which enshrines the 
souls of those valiant soldiers to whom Belgium owes its 
liberty and independence to-day. 

After the siege of Antwerp, the small Belgian army 
succeeded in retiring intact to the coast and establishing 
the line of the Yser. It numbered at this time approxi- 
mately 80,000 men, of whom about 48,000 were armed 
and equipped. It had 300 cannon of 75 millimeters, and 
24 howitzers of the 150 M., together with munitions and 
provisions for a limited period. 

Upon arrival at the coast, the troops had lost a great 
part of their clothing and their boots were worn out. The 
men themselves seemed to have reached the limit of their 
endurance, and presented a sad spectacle. Their spirit, 
however, upheld them. The King at once addressed 
them in the admirable manner that has never failed him. 
He called upon the men to show their qualities of tenacity 
and bravery that had ever animated them in the face 
of danger. He told them that now they were called upon 
to join and fight with the armies of the Allies. "In the 
positions in which you are placed, in which I have placed 
you," said he, "your concern will be only to advance, and 
you are to consider him a traitor to his country who speaks 
of retreat, until your King commands it." 

He did not hide from them the fact that a supreme test 
was about to begin. What he asked was that they should 

292 



THE GLORIOUS STORY OF THE YSER 

hold out until death. He told them that they were no 
longer without allies; that it was entirely possible to 
drive the invaders before them and free the country. 
His words filled the ragged soldiers with courage and re- 
newed energy. How they cheered him ! 

One hundred and fifty thousand freshly formed Ger- 
man troops, aided by more than five hundred cannon, in- 
cluding those enormous pieces which had broken down 
the defenses of Antwerp, formed on the Yser on the 
morning of the sixteenth day of October, and the battle 
began. General Foch had come to Furnes to arrange 
matters with King Albert, who promised him that the 
Belgians would hold Furnes at any cost. How they did 
so makes glorious history. 

"The situation, however, was more than critical. The 
worn out Belgian army, with the sole support of 6,000 
French marines, deprived of artillery, was obliged to de- 
fend a front of thirty-six kilometers from the sea to 
Zuydschoote. Its initial task, it is true, was limited to 
bearing the first shock of the adversary, in order to allow 
allied reinforcements to intervene. General Foch de- 
manded now 'a resistance of only forty-eight hours !' To 
cover this extended front, it was necessary to deploy al- 
most the entire Belgian forces. From the coast to the 
north of the town of Dixmude, there were drawn up 
the second, first and fourth divisions of the army. They 
held in advance of the Yser, the posts of Lombaertzyde, 

293 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

Manckensvere, Schoone, Keyem and Beerst, and on the 
river two bridgeheads of Nieuport and Schoorbakke. 

"At the right the Dixmude bridgehead and vicinity 
were defended by a brigade of French marines and two 
regiments of the Meiser brigade. (Third division.) 
Further, the fifth division occupied the region of Noord- 
schoote, while the sixth prolonged the line to the environs 
of Beosinghe, where it was joined to the positions of the 
French reserves. 

"The first cavalry division covered the right flank of 
the army towards Roulers and Houthulst with the French 
cavalry, so that there remained only at the disposition of 
the Belgian Commander two brigades of the third di- 
vision and the second cavalry division placed between 
Nieuport and Furnes. 

"Such was the arrangement when the enemy cannon 
opened fire on the banks of the Yser on October 16th, 
and were most vigorously met and repulsed by the little 
Belgian Army. 

"On the seventeenth information received clearly in- 
dicated that a considerable enemy force was advancing 
toward the Nieuport-Dixmude front, which thus became 
absolutely necessary to reenforce. The fifth division 
was brought toward Lampernisse while a brigade of the 
sixth replaced it at Noordschoote-DrieGrachten. 

"On the eighteenth of October, the German effort was 
accentuated in front of the bridgeheads of Nieuport and 

294 



THE GLORIOUS STORY OF THE YSER 

Schoorbakke, where the enemy attacked the advanced 
posts. A Franco-British flotilla aided in a successful 
resistance before Lombartzyde, but the enemy captured 
Mannekensvere and held it, as well as Schoone to the 
south, but Beerst resisted all assaults. 

"From that time the enemy became so strong that it 
was necessary to consolidate the whole imperiled front 
at no matter what cost. The strength of the Franco- 
English cavalry operating near Roulers permitted the 
moving in its turn of the sixth division towards 
Lampernaise, then to Pervyse, where it supported the 
center. 

"The combat became furious on the nineteenth of Oc- 
tober, when the stoutly resisting outposts of Nieuport 
were assailed. But the operations under the Belgian 
Commander, at first successful, had to yield to the su- 
perior forces of a German army corps debouching from 
Roulers. 

"From the twentieth of October on, the front of the 
Yser, now accessible to the enemy, was the object of con- 
tinuous bombardment, the intensity of which increased 
as the day waned. The system of trenches built by the 
Belgian engineers were destroyed by the shells. Nieu- 
port and Dixmude burst into flames, but the enemy was 
prevented from occupying them. 

"The situation was tragic. The six Belgian divisions 
greatly reduced in numbers, alone remained to defend 

295 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

the front of twenty kilometers between the sea and Saint- 
Jacques-Kapelle. Already they had fought consecu- 
tively for five days and the battle continued with in- 
creasing intensity. The enemy placed before these feeble 
yet undaunted forces the compact masses of the fourth 
division of 'Ersatz,' the twenty-second, twenty-third 
and third reserve corps, together with much artillery; his 
purpose being to break the line of the Yser, before rein- 
forcements could be brought up, aiming especially 
against Dixmude and Nieuport which were the buttresses 
of our defense, and whose fall would break the Yser line 
and that of the railroad. 

"The twenty-first day of October ushered in several 
terrible struggles at Dixmude, and it was only by great 
sacrifices that the Belgians were able to meet and break 
the successive shocks of the enemy, and this was only 
accomplished by throwing in the reserves to the last man. 
That night, favored by fog and darkness, the enemy used 
a hastily constructed bridge near Tervaete, entering a 
bend in the Yser which at this point projects towards 
the east. This meant, if the enemy was able to increase 
his advantage, the inevitable piercing of the Belgian 
front. 

"Despite their worn condition, the Belgian troops made 
a show of splendid energy, and fiercely counterattacked, 
sustaining terrible losses. They were unable to drive 
the enemy from his position, but they remained in com- 

296 



THE GLORIOUS STORY OF THE YSER 

mand of the situation and established themselves strongly 
in a series of muddy ditches between the two extremities 
of the bend. 

"On the twenty-third day of October, after the Bel- 
gians had endured the battle for a whole week, the forty- 
second division of the French under General Grossetti 
appeared and directed its efforts towards Nieuport, a use- 
less procedure, for the Belgian Commander pointed out 
two days before the necessity of intervention in the cen- 
ter of the shaken battle front. The greatly fatigued Bel- 
gian troops could not prevent the Schoorbakke bridge- 
head from falling into the hands of the enemy, and it was 
necessary to organize a retreat towards the intermediary 
line of Noordvaart and Beverdyk which still successfully 
resisted the assault. This was the last stand before the 
railroad line. 

"The Belgian Commander insisting that the French 
troops should be used here, General d'Urbal ordered a 
brigade of the Grossetti division to take up a position at 
this point on the twenty-fourth, when the Union and St. 
George Bridge had to be abandoned in its turn under the 
withering hre of the enemy and his converging attacks. 
The Germans then made a supreme attack upon Dix- 
mude. During the darkness of night they made fifteen 
successive assaults on the bridgehead, with hand to hand 
fighting, in which the marines and the Belgians were vic- 
torious, in spite of the fact that certain of the Belgian 

297 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

units had already spent seventy-two consecutive hours in 
the muddy trenches. 

"On the twenty-fifth of October, by order of General 
Foch, to whom King Albert at Furnes had explained the 
gravity of the situation, the entire forty-second division 
was brought to the center where the situation improved a 
little inasmuch as the enemy began to show signs of fa- 
tigue. Not being able to count on the arrival of other 
units, his troops being practically worn out, the Belgian 
Commander gave the order to cut the dyke and inundate 
the 'terrain' between the Yser and the railroad, which 
served as the last rampart. The preliminary work was 
undertaken on the twenty-fifth at four o'clock in the aft- 
ernoon. 

"The decision appeared to have been wise as a new 
enemy drive on the twenty-sixth caused the abandon- 
ment of Beverdyk. During the evening the Franco-Bel- 
gian troops still held Nieuport and Dixmude, between 
these points a line along the railroad up to Pervyse, then 
via Stuyvekenskerke and milestone 16. They went back 
no further. 

"The twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth were quieter 
days, although the bombardment was persistent. Im- 
perceptibly the inundation began its work. The enemy 
who had not yet suspected the intervention of this new 
adversary, prepared a last effort. A bombardment of 

298 



THE GLORIOUS STORY OF THE YSER 

unusual violence was a preliminary on the 29th to the 
attacks planned for the 30th against the railroad. 

"They were everywhere repulsed except at Ramsca- 
pelle where the enemy had gained a footing. The re- 
treat of the enemy transformed itself into a disorderly 
rout when he suddenly perceived all around him the 
rapidly rising muddy water. 

"This ended the battle of the Yser. Resisting for 
forty-eight hours, the Belgian army reenforced by 6,000 
marines, fought alone the invading hordes for one week, 
and then continued its effort up to October 31st, thus 
fighting unceasingly for fifteen mortal days. 

"In the course of these three hundred and sixty hours 
of fierce battle, it gave all it had without respite or rest; 
crouched in shallow, muddy, unfinished trenches, with- 
out covering or shelter, feebly nourished and exposed to 
inclement weather these heroic men held their ground. 
In tattered rags of uniforms, they hardly had the appear- 
ance of human beings. The number of wounded for 
the thirteen last days of October exceeded 9,000. The 
number of killed or missing was more than 1 1,000. The 
corps of officers suffered particularly, one regiment having 
less than twelve remaining. 

"Due to prodigious sacrifices and unexampled bravery 
the Belgian Armybarred the route to Dunkirk and Calais. 
The left wing of the Allies was not broken; a tiny corner 

299 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

of Belgium remained free though frightfully mutilated. 
From this sacred spot four years later came forth the 
liberating spirit of our brave soldiers. And that is why 
the name the Victor King had embroidered on the flags 
of his heroic regiments shines forth in a halo of splendid 
and immortal glory : YSER !" (C. Willy Breton.) 



300 



THE DUEL BETWEEN A MAN AND A 

NATION 

9ff A IS name is Desire Joseph Merrier. He was born 
:. ! K§ in the small Flemish Village of Braine l'Alleud 
+^J near the battlefield of Waterloo, on November 22, 
1851. He is therefore now sixty-nine years of age. 

The Mercier family has ever in some way been con- 
nected with the church. His mother's uncle, who was 
Adrian Croquet, a great figure in the early history of 
Oregon, was a missionary whose name will ever endure 
as the "Saint of Oregon." 

To him the young lad Desire looked up in veneration 
and under his tuition he developed those remarkable char- 
acteristics which have so moved the whole world and now 
for him its enthusiastic admiration. 

Desire became a pupil of Saint Romband's [variously 
spelled Rombold and Rombaut] college in the quaint 
Flemish town of Malines [Mechelen, Flemish], and upon 
completing the regular course and graduating with hon- 
ors, he entered the Diocesan Seminary there, from which 
after a course of study he was raised to his priesthood on 

301 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

the fourth of April, 1874, just forty-six years ago, in the 
twenty-third year of his age. He became a student of 
theology for the next three years at the celebrated Uni- 
versity of Louvain, from which he was selected for his 
scholarly attainments to occupy the chair of philosophy 
at the Seminary of Malines, where he remained until he 
was called to the University of Louvain to become the 
professor of philosophy. He occupied this position with 
such signal success that Pope Leo XIII, in 1886, conferred 
upon him the title of Monseigneur, which appointment 
gave universal satisfaction to the church in Belgium. 

In the world of science and philosophy, the name of 
Monseigneur Desire. Joseph Mercier became famous, and 
his published works upon "Psychology" and "Logic" at- 
tracted much attention, and were translated into several 
languages. His "Manual of Modern Scholastic Philoso- 
phy" is his latest work. Pope Leo XIII so admired him 
that he recommended a special chair for him at the Uni- 
versity of Louvain, in the study of neo-scholastic phil- 
osophy, and this was erected in the University by the 
Bishops of Belgium. It may be explained here that 
neo-scholasticism is the development of the great schol- 
astic movement which Saint Thomas Aquinas inaugu- 
rated in the Middle Ages, and to this task Cardinal Mer- 
cier brought the rare equipment of a mind trained in 
philosophy and a remarkably complete knowledge of all 
the details of the sciences of both Aristotle and Aquinas. 

302 



CARDINAL MERCIER 

He was not yet a Cardinal. In 1906, his Eminence 
Cardinal Goosens, the Archbishop of Malines, passed 
away crowned with honors, and at his funeral in Saint 
Rombaud, Monseigneur Mercier preached a remarkable 
sermon and panegyric. In the following month, Mon- 
seigneur Mercier was appointed successor to Cardinal 
Goosens, and, remaining in Malines in the active office 
and care of the diocese, he brought to his work the re- 
markable knowledge and qualities for which he has since 
become renowned. 

In this diocese, in which there are now upwards of 
2,500,000 Catholics, and nearly eight hundred parishes, 
he is an indefatigable worker. His tasks and accom- 
plishments are set forth in the volumes "Retraite Pas- 
torale" and "A Mes Seminaristes," both of which have 
been translated into English. They are exemplifications 
of simplicity, purity of style, and of the loftiest thought 
and thoroughness. 

Cardinal Mercier, is, as is well known here in America 
through his visit last fall, when thousands beheld his 
remarkable and towering figure at the gatherings in his 
honor, a very tall and priestly looking man, with the face 
of an ascetic, beaming with light and enthusiasm, — very 
simple in manner and speech, yet of a dignity of presence 
that brings before one the very exemplification of the 
motto on his coat of arms 

"Apostolus Jesu Christi." 
303 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

A long scar upon his face is the mark of an injury he 
received several years ago when, in his car near Ant- 
werp, he came upon a child playing in the road, and his 
chauffeur turned the car suddenly into a stone wall, 
throwing out the Cardinal, who was severely injured, but 
saving the child. "Better that I should suffer thus," said 
he, when he recovered consciousness, "than that the child 
should be killed" — and so he bears the scar. 

Read what he wrote in his address to his priests on 
Christmas, 1914 : — "We may now say, my Brethren, with- 
out unworthy pride, that our little Belgium has taken a 
foremost place in the esteem of nations. I am aware 
that certain onlookers, notably in Italy and in Holland, 
have asked how it could be necessary to expose this 
country to so immense a loss of wealth and life, and 
whether a verbal manifesto against hostile aggression, or 
a single cannon-shot on the frontier, would not have 
served the purpose of protest. But assuredly all men of 
good feeling will be with us in our rejection of these pal- 
try counsels. Mere utilitarianism is no sufficient rule of 
Christian citizenship. 

"On the 19th of April, 1839, a treaty was signed in 
London by King Leopold, in the name of Belgium, on the 
one part, and by the Emperor of Austria, the King of 
France, the Queen of England, the King of Prussia, and 
the Emperor of Russia, on the other : and its seventh arti- 
cle decreed that Belgium should form a separate and per- 

304 



CARDINAL MERCIER 

petually neutral State, and should be held to the 6bserv- 
ance of this neutrality in regard to all other States. The 
cosignatories promised, for themselves and for their suc- 
cessors, upon their oath, to fulfill and to observe that 
treaty in every point and every article without contra- 
vention or tolerence of contravention. Belgium was 
thus bound in honor to defend her own independence. 
She kept her oath. The other powers were bound to 
respect and protect her neutrality. Germany vio- 
lated her oath: England kept hers. These are the 
facts. . , . 

. . . "My dear Brethren. . . . You have suffered 
greatly. You have endured much calumny. But be 
patient: history will do you justice. I to-day bear my 
witness for you." . . . 

[Extract from the pastoral letter addressed to the 
Bishops of Belgium — Christmas, 1914.] 

From the very first day of the criminal invasion of Bel- 
gium up to the signing of the Armistice, the heroic Bel- 
gian Cardinal did not for an instant cease to defy the in- 
vader. His great Pastoral on "Patriotism and Endur- 
ance," openly accusing the enemy, stands as a unique doc- 
ument which will live forever, and his letters addressed to 
the Bishops of Belgium, and those to his people, are "most 
wisely enlightening and tenderly encouraging." They 
show this militant cardinal as one of the remarkable men 
of our time. He brought to the attention of the whole 

305 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

world the various cruelties and atrocities invented by the 
invaders to terrify the unfortunate Belgian people. It 
was he who called attention to the brutal enslavements 
of the men and young women in the system of "deporta- 
tions." His letter "For those in captivity," shocked the 
whole world. 

The answer to this from Berlin was a denial of any 
and all atrocities on their part, and a cynically humorous 
accusation against the Belgians, of "most abominable 
crimes" committed upon the German soldiers. To this 
the Cardinal issued "An appeal to Truth" in a letter ad- 
dressed to the Bishops of Germany, Bavaria, and Austro- 
Hungary. All undaunted by the hordes of gray clad 
men, who were trampling the little country into dust, he 
strove to keep up the courage of his people by his power- 
ful and eloquent Pastorals — such as that entitled "Cour- 
age, My Brethren." He eloquently reminded his people 
of their good and valiant King, who was in the trenches 
with the heroic little army. He spoke to the priests of 
Belgium upon "Christian Vengeance," and through them 
to the almost despairing people. His letters and allocu- 
tions present a very clear and remarkable picture of the 
condition of little Belgium, struggling under the iron 
heel of the oppressor, and fixes indelibly in our minds 
the successive harrowing episodes of the terrible tragedy 
suffered by the unfortunate and innocent people. 

Certainly no more thrilling record can be found in his- 

306 



CARDINAL MERCIER 

tory than the story of the dual fought by the militant car- 
dinal * against all the powers of a great hostile nation : 
One man against a whole nation with all its might, 
and all of its terrible cunning! How speciously the 
Prussian propaganda worked to induce the whole world 
to accept and believe that the actions of the invading 
army in Belgium were kindly, and pacific, and always 
tolerant towards the fleeing and terrified people, and that 
the severities inflicted upon them were always necessary 
to keep order among them, and for their own good, — in 
other words the force used was both tolerant and pa- 
ternal! To this end all the news printed in Germany 
was carefully censored and so distorted by the authorities, 
that it was taken for "Gospel truth" by the German peo- 
ple. Of course, the authorities justified this, because 
"Deutschland" is by them considered always before the 
truth ; before honor ; before individual liberty. 

In proof of this one has only to read the correspondence 
between the Hero Cardinal and Von Bissing, Governor- 
General of Belgium. Before even the beginning of the 
war, the war lords of Germany well knew that the Bel- 
gian priests stood as a wall which must be broken down, 
solidly devoted to the liberties of their country. Be- 
hind these priests, who rallied about the Cardinal, was 
a great and famous university, which taught that pa- 

1 The Rev. J. F. Stillemans, has collected the remarkable letters of Car- 
dinal Mercier in a volume in which they are printed in detail. "Cardinal 
Mercier, Pastorals, Letters, and Allocutions, 1914-1917," P. J. Kenedy. 

307 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

triotism and love of liberty was only secondary to their 
religion. In the Primate of Belgium was embodied the 
spirit and will of the whole Belgian priesthood, and this 
gave him his strength and resolve to resist to the end. 

For years the Belgian people had labored and lived in 
the fancied security of the promises and provisions of a 
"scrap of paper." Red war burst upon them out of a 
blue sky. The Belgian army, after a valiant struggle, 
was swept aside. The Belgian people had been taught 
to believe that war was unthinkable. Their Socialists 
had impressed this upon them for years — perhaps this was 
part of the German propaganda. We have seen how the 
awakening from this dream of peace acted upon the peo- 
ple. How worthy of their ancient traditions were these 
peaceful workers when the primate "who was not less 
a man because he was a priest," stepped forth to do bat- 
tle at their head. 

Baron Von Bissing did not estimate the Cardinal and 
the priesthood of Belgium at their proper value. He 
failed to consider that these quiet men were most potent 
factors in the defense of the country. He failed too to 
consider the very great power they wielded over their 
people whom they had for years instructed in the love of 
patriotism and liberty, and likewise their love and vene- 
ration for Cardinal Mercier. 

Reading over the correspondence between Von Bissing 
and his Government it is made plain that the war lords 

308 



CARDINAL MERCIER 

in Berlin had planned to so hem in the priests of Belgium 
on every hand that they would be entirely powerless. 
The plan provided for driving the King out of the coun- 
try, and thus, being without a leader around whom they 
could rally, the people would soon lose heart, and turn 
in despair with hands outstretched towards the invaders. 
This plan looked well on paper. Had not Cardinal 
Mercier stepped forth fearlessly, who knows what might 
not have happened 1 ? Without that ringing eloquent 
voice raised in behalf of his suffering people, might not 
the spirit of the Belgian people have been broken down in 
profound discouragement*? So Von Bissing determined 
to close the lips of the Cardinal and his priests once and 
for all time, and in 1914 addressed his first communica- 
tion to him couched in no uncertain terms. "The Cardi- 
nal Archbishop of Malines, his suffragan bishops and the 
priests have been paid servants of the Belgian Govern- 
ment," Wilhelmstrasse argues. There is of course re- 
ligious liberty in Belgium, but the connection of the 
Catholic Church with the State is so close that if the 
State should withdraw the stipends of the priests, small 
as they are, there would be much dissatisfaction among 
them and great loss, for, according to St. Paul, those 
who serve the altar must live by the altar. The grind- 
ing poverty and the inability of the priests to follow their 
custom of assisting the poor Belgian patriot brought 
about many personal sacrifices. Rather than accept 

309 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

these sacrifices, it was presumed in Berlin, the Belgian 
priests would be willing to stifle their patriotism, remain 
silent, except when they uttered the kind of prayer which 
would be pleasant to the German Government, and 
reluctantly submit to the will of the conquerors. 

Baron Von Bissing either on his own volition, or un- 
der instruction from Berlin, therefore issued a letter to 
the priests, in which he, with a great air of graciousness, 
undertook and agreed to pay them their stipend with the 
understanding that they first appear before him and sign 
a document agreeing "not to undertake anything against 
the German Government and the administration in the 
occupied Belgian territories, and to avoid anything that 
could in any way prejudice its interests." Von Bissing 
proposed to pay the salaries of the ecclesiastics of Bel- 
gium from the State revenues of Belgium. Germany 
thus would lose little and gain much. Von Bissing 
would thus preserve an attitude of benevolence, and a 
high regard, not only for Christianity, but for The Hague 
Convention. Therefore, from his point of view, the 
matter was definitely disposed of, and the whole Belgian 
priesthood were by this cunning act reduced to paid 
Acolytes of the All Highest, that is, the Kaiser. 

But Cardinal Mercier blocked this plan by his letter 
of January 27, 1915, in which he calls the attention of 
His Excellency Von Bissing to the fact that Belgian 
priests are not State functionaries: that under the Bel- 

310 




f~yir*-T. -? 



*-> «-• <?- 



X -2-J*- £-* 



/ *^-l-+^ 







CARDINAL MERCIER 

gian law they are not paid for their services; that the 
Belgian law provides that certain sums be paid to them 
as indemnity for ecclesiastical property confiscated by the 
State, and that the members of the clergy neither give 
pledge nor take oath to the Belgian Government, "but 
are merely subject like ordinary citizens to the general 
laws of the country." 

Cardinal Mercier, in proof of this, quoted the XIII 
and XIV articles of the Concordat of 1801. The Na- 
tional Congress of Belgium at the time of the Indepen- 
dence, "appropriated" a great amount of ecclesiastical 
property, with the consent of the Holy See, under the 
stipulation that the Belgian Government, in compensa- 
tion, should bear the expense of public worship, as well 
as the maintenance of the priests. 

He likewise quoted the finding of the Belgian Court 
of Appeals, ruling that (under date 1847) "Ministers of 
public worship had no executive authority, nor were 
they delegated by the Government to exercise any kind 
of authority, and therefore were not in any sense ser- 
vants of the State." 

This was indeed a body blow for the wily Von Bissing. 
He could find no answer for it. All he could say was 
that he "waived all claims to a personal declaration from 
each member of the clergy." This was mere "camou- 
flage," and after a period calculated to allay the Cardi- 
nal's suspicions, he dispatched a threatening letter to him 

311 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

demanding an "immediate" answer to three questions, 
and this letter was handed to the Primate by no less a 
person than his right hand man, Von Strimpel, who waited 
in the Cardinal's anteroom for the reply. 

These questions were as follows : ( l ) What relations 
has your Eminence had after the occupation of the coun- 
try by German troops with the King of the Belgians, and 
in particular with the King of England? (2) Through 
what channel have these communications been main- 
tained? (3) What are the legal grounds on which your 
Eminence rests to ordain days of penance in accordance 
with a desire manifested by the King of England? 

He got his answer, but it was not what he had ex- 
pected. Never was a German commander so discomfited 
as Von Bissing, who raged and fumed as he read the 
Pastoral letter of January 1, 1915, "Patriotism and 
Endurance." "The only legitimate power in Belgium is 
that which belongs to our King, his Government, and 
the representatives of the nation. He alone has a right 
to the affection of our hearts and to submission; for us 
he alone represents authority." 

Cardinal Mercier understood exactly the power and the 
rights invested in his office as Primate, and he was cer- 
tain that the Pontiff at Rome would uphold him in his 
actions. Nor for one moment would he infringe upon 
the duty of a priest, layman, or the humblest citizen in 
his defense of his country. Von Bissing understood this 

312 



CARDINAL MERCIER 

as well, so no appeal was made to Rome. In vain he 
sought some plan whereby this calm and fearless church- 
man might be trapped and convicted of some act which 
might be construed as treasonable. One was more blun- 
dering than the other; all were tried in turn and failed, 
some ludicrously. His threatening sword was turned 
against himself. That great pastoral, entitled "Pa- 
triotism and Endurance" "is one of the most splendid 
apologies for national freedom expressed in modern 
times." [Says Maurice Francis Egan, reviewing "Cardi- 
nal Mercier's Own Story," New York Times :] 

"I do not deny," writes the Cardinal, "that you have your part to 
play when you close all avenues leading abroad and you arrest those 
of our fellow-countrymen who attempt to cross the frontiers: — 
but do not treat as traitors these heroic young fellows who, at the 
risk of their liberty and their life, have the ambition to go and 
enroll themselves in our armies. Tolerate no longer the military 
courts that regard the purest civic virtue as treason. 

"No longer condemn the teachers of youth for having approved, 
or for not having disapproved, a legitimate desire for the exer- 
cise of valor; do not inflict imprisonment or fine for their failing to 
denounce to the vengeance of your tribunals a pupil, perhaps a spir- 
itual son. 

"No longer make it a crime for generous souls to refuse a morsel 
of bread, an alms, a temporary shelter to the man of the people who 
tears himself away from his fireside to fly to the defense of his 
fatherland. Do not punish charity. 

"Do not set traps for noble young fellows by inviting them to 
furnish or transmit correspondence of uncensored documents to 
keep recruits and to betray companions in misfortune. 

313 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

"When a wretched young fellow is arrested, do not uselessly 
prolong his preventive detention. Grant him counsel to sustain 
him and to defend him before his judges. He has that right; see 
to it that there is some proportion between the crime and the 
penalty. Stop the promiscuous awarding of penal servitude, the 
pain of death deterrent to breaches of the law." 

Von Bissing was forced to transmit this letter to Ber- 
lin together with his report. He could find no excuse for 
imprisoning the Cardinal, a Prince of the Church. He 
dared not. He was forced even to give him a passport to 
proceed to Rome, and he found that the Cardinal on his 
return was even more than ever determined to fight him 
on his own ground. He received from the Cardinal a 
copy of Article XVI of the Belgian Constitution which 
declared that "the State has not the right to forbid the 
ministers of any form of worship the publication of their 
acts," and also quotes Article XLIII, of The Hague Con- 
vention (of which Germany was signatory) "imposing on 
the power occupying a country respect for the Constitu- 
tion and laws of said country." 

So progressed the remarkable struggle of Von Bissing 
with the German army and the Kaiser at his back, against 
the Cardinal of Belgium, Desire Joseph Mercier, until in 
April, 1917, when he died, and who shall say if chagrin 
did not hasten his end. 

Of Von Bissing, Cardinal Mercier said in his letter, 
"The Baron Von Bissing was a believer: I remember 

3H 



CARDINAL MERCIER 

he said to me one day in unmistakable accents: 'I am 
not a Catholic, but I believe in Christ' I shall pray to 
our Lord in all sincerity for the repose of his soul." 



315 



(Iftf Tim and ti* <fcumi 

^■UNDOUBTEDLY, the most striking and noble 
CSJ| figure of the world war is that of King Albert; 
^* ™ his manhood, his character, his record for fear- 
lessness and bravery, transcend name or office, and the 
whole world unites to do honor to him to-day. Called 
unexpectedly in the year 1909 to take the throne and lead 
the destiny of the Belgians, his remarkable personality 
and his earnestness of purpose, evident from the mo- 
ment of his succession, inaugurated a new era in the his- 
tory of Belgium. 

The little country was torn by the ancient struggles 
of the two parties which had been in hostile array against 
each other for centuries. These parties, or rather races, 
for as before related, the Flemings speak Dutch, and the 
Walloons, French, — number millions. They refused to 
mingle, each cherishing its own tongue and customs, and 
in a way respecting each other's idiosyncracies. Yet 
curiously enough, unless one were cognizant of the state 
of affairs, one would never suspect the fierce character 
of the strife between them, so entirely peaceful and har- 

316 



THE KING AND THE QUEEN 

monious do they appear to the stranger, who views them 
superficially. 

The task of leadership to which Albert was so suddenly 
summoned by the death of Leopold II, who had reigned 
for forty-four years, was certainly no easy one. The 
state of Belgium, a creation of diplomacy, its perpetual 
neutrality guaranteed by the powers (including Ger- 
many) , was fraught with difficulties. The Kingdom was 
not a sovereign state. No navy was allowed it, and 
there were a number of other prerogatives which were 
distinctly forbidden. 

If these restrictions were irksome to the Crown or the 
people, they gave no sign of their dissatisfaction but 
went about their task of development with singular en- 
thusiasm. They achieved a commercial success which 
is in no small sense to be attributed to the wise and far- 
seeing policy of the young King in these difficult days 
following the year 1909. This was the period when 
Germany was exploiting with infinite camouflage her 
plans for world conquest under the name of "Kultur." 

Observant travelers found all over Germany ominous 
and unmistakable evidences of this plan, which they re- 
ported to deaf ears — the world would not believe them. 
They told of the increase and mobilization of troops in 
Alsace and Lorraine, the vastly increased military bud- 
gets, and the extension of double track railway lines to 
the western frontiers. Belgium was swarming with Ger- 

317 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

man merchants, Antwerp and Brussels being their head- 
quarters. Within the last few years, since the Brussels 
exposition in 1910, they dominated trade. The newly 
constructed boulevards in both these towns were lined 
with their palatial residences. One wonders if the Bel- 
gians suspected the plans of the Kaiser — if so they gave 
no sign. 

King Albert was born April 8, 1875. His full name 
is Albert Leopold Clement Maria Meinrad. In 1899 he 
first visited the United States as an earnest student and 
investigator. While here he charmed all who met him by 
his democratic and tactful ways, and made many lasting 
and enthusiastic friends. He returned to Belgium with 
outspoken admiration of our institutions, and with a pro- 
found understanding and knowledge of our many prob- 
lems. He next went to Africa at the request of Leopold 
II, to explore and study the Belgian Congo-land. His 
report of conditions, and of the great wealth of the Congo, 
is said to be a model of succinctness and remarkable for 
its prophecies since realized. 

In the years that followed, the full proof of the char- 
acter and nobility of the young King has been made mani- 
fest to the world. The story of the world war certainly 
holds no more striking and heroic figure than that of 
Albert at the head of his tiny valiant army on the wide 
plains of Flanders, defending to the end that small cor- 

3i8 



THE KING AND THE QUEEN 

ner of his Kingdom. The English historian's prophecy 
that on the day of peace, after his heroic resistance, "The 
name of Albert would lead all the rest," is fulfilled. 
Belgium refused to sell her soul. Belgium was not a 
road for the Kaiser's armies. 

The whole world to-day pays homage to this valiant 
King and his brave Queen. Albert was to show his met- 
tle in June, 1913, when the will of the Belgians was ex- 
pressed at the polls and again defeated, as often before, 
because in the Constitution of 1830 the plural vote, an 
English device, had been adopted. It was unsatisfac- 
tory to the people. The Liberals, to change the already 
long rule of the Clericals and thus secure manhood suf- 
frage, used another method by which men of all classes, 
creeds, and political affiliations could take part. 

For days the entire traffic and business of the country 
was well nigh paralyzed. An overthrow of the throne 
was imminent and openly discussed. The King re- 
mained calm and self-contained in the face of the storm. 
There was neither destruction of property nor bloodshed, 
and the King steered the ship of state through these peril- 
ous days with a firm hand; he knew the spirit of his peo- 
ple, and he led them to safety. In spite of the fears of 
the party in power who urged upon the King the need of 
the military for protection, the sovereign refused their de- 
mands, and ignoring parties, sections and creeds, he stood 

319 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

alone, the leader of the nation ; the chosen supreme arbi- 
trator, using only the power of Justice, without fear or 
passion. 

His refusal to use the military decided the matter; 
those who had opposed him now turned, and it was re- 
solved to abolish the plural vote, allowing instead one 
vote to each qualified voter, and a new law was framed. 
But before it could be acted upon, the terrible storm of 
war swept over the land; Belgium was overrun by the 
Kaiser's hordes. Amid the thunder of guns and the ac- 
companiment of brute force, and unspeakable cruelty 
of the marching invaders, the stalwart figure of this 
valiant King at bay stood out before the eyes of an admir- 
ing world — and now the throne is "Broad-based upon a 
people's will," and the freeman's vote prevails in Bel- 
gium, a sovereign country and a complete nation. 

Albert was just twenty-five when he married Eliza- 
beth, who was the daughter of a Ducal house of Bavaria, 
with the title of Duchess. Her father, the Duke, was 
an oculist of fame as well as a philanthropist. Eliza- 
beth is herself Doctor of Medicine of the University of 
Liege, and also a musician, being an expert violinist. 
The people of Belgium rejoiced in this marriage of Prince 
Albert, as he was then, and heartily welcomed the slender 
Duchess Elizabeth to their country, where she won all 
hearts by her charm of manner and by her untiring in- 
terest in the daily life of the people. 

320 



THE KING AND THE QUEEN 

There are three children : Leopold, who was born in 
1901, Charles in 1903, and the Princess Marie- Jose in 
1906. When, in 1909, Albert and Elizabeth became 
King and Queen of the Belgians, they were beloved by 
all. The more the people saw of them, the better they 
liked them. 

"To the education of their children they gave the most 
untiring attention. They were taught to learn and per- 
form difficult tasks; to obey unquestioningly ; to regard 
the feelings and happiness of others above their own ; to 
deny themselves that others might have pleasure, and 
above all, to avoid vain-glory, or pride of position. 
Thus they have grown up under the proud eyes of the 
people. Think then, M'sieur, what the outbreak of the 
World War meant to this united family — when our 
country was thrilled to the core by the brave and fear- 
less words of our King in answer to the brutal demand 
of the invader who suddenly crossed our frontier. When 
our King drew his sword that morning in August, fac- 
ing with calmness and determination his ministers and 
members of the Parliament who thronged the house and 
said in a ringing voice, 'Faith have I in our destinies, a 
country which defends itself commands the respect of 
all. That country -shall not perish ! God will support 
us in a just cause. Long live an independent Belgium!' 
well he knew the temper of his people, and that loyalty 
to the throne was the dominant feeling that moved them. 

321 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

They thrilled to his courageous words ! The streets filled 
with people as the King departed to place himself at the 
head of his troops." 

" 'Belgium is not a road,' cried the King, and the peo- 
ple took up that cry, — it rang from one end of the King- 
dom to the other. The world knows well what followed. 
Throughout the period of the war the King and Queen 
were side by side with their loyal troops on the plains of 
Flanders. From the day when she was forced to leave 
the palace at Brussels, which she had turned into a hos- 
pital, and follow the army into exile, she worked unre- 
mittingly, as a nurse by the side of her hero King. The 
world knows, M'sieur, the record of those four terrible 
years in the trenches, and among the sand dunes at La 
Panne where their lives were in constant danger from 
the German shells. The King and Queen suffered with 
their soldiers, and shared with them their daily food. 
In the hospital founded by Dr. Depage in the dunes, 
the Queen, clad in a nurse's dress, without any other dis- 
tinguishing mark, toiled daily with the others. At this 
time they lived in a small cottage at La Panne, within 
range of the German shells which fell constantly about 
them." A nun writes : 

"Near by was the town of Furnes, and here were estab- 
lished two large refuge schools for destitute children, in 
which the Oueen took an active interest. In these schools 
there were over six hundred children who had lost their 

322 



THE KING AND THE QUEEN 

parents. For four years she toiled thus, M'sieur, our 
sainted Queen ! And then came the day when, as if by 
magic, the great guns of war were silenced! The war 
was at an end! Can you picture to yourself what this 
meant to Belgium? The exile was over, and the King 
and Queen could return to Brussels. Belgium will never 
forget that clear, bright, November day, when at the head 
of his war worn, loyal troops with their battle flags fly- 
ing, and the bands playing our anthem, the 'Brabancon,' 
the tall erect figure of our King Albert on his white horse 
rode into the town. Beside him was the Queen, clad in 
khaki, on a bay horse, and behind her the two princes 
Leopold and Charles, and little fair-haired Princess 
Marie-Jose, at the head of thirty thousand Allied troops, 
riding beneath triumphant arches of flags and flowers, — 
flowers and flags, and a cheering, crying, multitude. 
Then, the review being over, the King went to the Parlia- 
ment to address the members, but what a difference there 
was in his words now ! — The King had come home to the 
Capital of a free Belgium, and the cheers that greeted 
him came from the hearts of a free people, and their 
prayers of thankfulness went out to those who had aided 
them, above all to the people of America — to whom their 
gratitude is everlasting." (Extract from the letter of 
the Soeur Jeannette Cornu. Beguine. 1919.) 



323 



laPmw 



/JJWHIS little straggling village of one street, lined 
flJU with the red-tiled roofed houses of the peasants, 
^*"^ protected from the North Sea by the sand dunes, 
was, for four long agonizing years, the headquarters of 
the Hero King and his Queen. 

In the Flemish tongue "Panne" means a hollow; and 
here in a hollow, a small brick and stucco cottage, little 
better than any of the other summer shacks, with a roof 
of red tiles, and windows facing the sea, surrounded by 
an iron fence, is the "Palace of La Panne." 

In the summer season the village is a commonplace 
pretty place, with large trees shading the roadway behind 
the dunes, and with hedges of the wild rosebushes which 
bloom profusely among the wiry gray green grass all 
along the dunes. The cottages are set higglety-pig- 
glety, each facing according to the whim of the owner. 
Most of the fishermen, although they are very poor, own 
their own boats and nets, and the small fenced-off gar- 
den plots furnish them with enough potatoes, beets, and 
cabbage for their needs. There are one or two so called 
"hotels," and during the war these were used as hospi- 

324 



LA PANNE 

tals and shelters for the women and children refugees. 

Ten years or so ago, La Panne was unknown save to 
the wandering painters, who dwelt in the cabins of the 
fishermen, paying two and a half to four francs a day for 
board and lodging, such as it was, and finding splendid 
material for their canvases. But all at once, to the won- 
derment of the fishermen and their families, there came 
engineers and surveyors bearing strange instruments, who 
engaged in mysterious performances on the dunes. 
These were followed by masons and builders, laborers, 
donkey engines, and heaps of lumber, brick and cement. 
And lo ! up sprang lines of quaint small villas along the 
melancholy dunes, and on the ocean front a brick paved 
"esplanade," and then — a hotel. La Panne awoke to 
the fact that it was a sea side resort. Some of these 
"villas" are perched high up on the dune tops; others 
are in the shelter of the hollows, and the effect is amus- 
ing and incongruous. 

The fishing population is unique for the reason that 
the fishing is done on horseback. The men and women, 
mounted on the backs of the small horses, of a breed not 
seen elsewhere, present a strange picture on the sands, 
armed with long poles to which the nets are attached. 
They ride out boldly into the surf, pushing the nets be- 
fore them, and scraping up whatever comes in their way. 
They seem to fish in bands of four or six, but occasionally 
a solitary figure, seeming in the mist like a centaur, is 

325 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

seen and the picture is weird in the extreme. The catch 
seems to be shrimp more than anything else, and these 
are packed in sea weed and sent on to Antwerp by rail. 

Small, narrow-gauge railways called "Chemins de fer 
vicinaux" run along the coast behind the dunes, connect- 
ing the small towns. The fare is very low, and the trains 
consist of a small squatty engine belching forth volumes 
of heavy sooty smoke, driven by a soot blackened engi- 
neer, who incessantly operates a loud gong with his foot 
and three or four small cars, labeled "I, II, and III 
Klasse." The latter are the most popular, and the for- 
mer, differing only in its lace hung window and corduroy 
cushions, invariably is unoccupied. The "guard" in uni- 
form takes up the fares in a sort of tin dipper in which 
there is a slot for the coin, and gives a receipt which must 
be kept in sight. 

The third class carriage has plain wooden benches, and 
is generally crowded uncomfortably by the peasants who 
are noisy of speech, and smelly of person. But if one 
does not mind these drawbacks, the experience is apt to 
be most amusing and worth while. Before the outbreak 
of the war there was a most grandiose plan or project 
actually commenced to connect all of the small towns of 
the Flemish "Litoral." These were to be converted into 
fashionable sea side and bathing resorts, by means of a 
great wide brick paved boulevard, with a splendidly 
equipped tramway running beside it from Dunkirk, on 

326 



LA PANNE 

the French border, to Knocke at the mouth of the Scheldt. 
This was named "La Route Royale," and as a matter 
of fact some portion of it was completed between Os- 
tende and Blankenberge. The Flemish coast line of 
about forty-five miles, from the French frontier to that 
of Dutch or Flemish Leeland, is an unvarying monotony 
of sand dunes topped with an undulating fringe of 
stunted scrub pine, and a growth of heavy grayish green 
wiry grass which is sown to keep the wind from blowing 
the sand away. Upon this long line of sand dunes the 
yellow waters of the North Sea roll and dash continually. 

Here and there behind the towering sand hills are dark 
clumps of stunted Lombardy poplars. This land, behind 
the dunes, is called "Ter Streep" (the flats) . In the 
furious storms of winter the sand is driven into great 
drifts, sometimes burying almost out of sight the huts of 
the fishermen, laying bare here and there evidences of 
the great prehistoric forests which once covered this part 
of Flanders. 

Border, in his "Le Littoral de la Flandre, au IX e , et au 
XIX e Siecles," speaks of the great fight waged by the in- 
habitants against the invasions of the sea, and relates 
that the first of the dikes for the protection of the land 
were built in the Tenth Century, and called "Evendyck," 
and ran from the village of Heyst to Wenduyne. Dur- 
ing the terrible storms and inundations of the Twelfth 
Century the whole physical aspect of the coast changed 

327 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

and it was in consequence of one of these storms that 
"Nieuport" (so terribly bombarded by the Germans) 
owed its origin. 

In those days Lombaertzyde, then a seaport, was de- 
stroyed, and its inhabitants driven away inland to a small 
village named Santhoven. Settling here they changed 
its name to Neoportus (New Harbor) . In almost every 
corner hereabouts one finds some evidence of the past. 
Derode's "Histoire Religieuse de la Flandre Maritime" 
is filled with fascinating tales and legends of the Ab- 
bey of the Dunes, which flourished here in the Middle 
Ages. 

Where the road turns in the direction of La Panne at 
Coxyde is a field with a few ruined walls and half filled 
crypts. This is all that remains of the famous Abbey 
of the Dunes, and the chronicle relates that in the last of 
the Eleventh Century a wandering monk named Lygar, or 
Lyger, build among the sand dunes a small hut which 
soon grew into a monastery; "for hearing of his holy life 
other monks joined him," and in the year 1 122 the Abbey 
of the Dunes was erected by these Holy Eremites. 

Of this abbey, said to have been the first built in Flan- 
ders of brick, and which consisted of "a great group of 
buildings and a church with no less than one hundred and 
five windows, carved stalls and a chime of wondrous 
bells, together with a library of precious MSS. and missals 
upon which the monks of skill labored long hours limn- 

328 



LA PANNE 

ing in gold and colors,'' the monks made a garden spot 
of the waste land behind the dunes. "No less than one 
hundred and fifty friars, and two hundred converts were 
thus engaged," says Derode. 

"Ter Streep" is splendid ground for the painter, but 
apt to be "ennuyant" for the ordinary traveler. The 
roads lead across flat fields inland, and there are few 
farms ; yet before the great flood in the Middle Ages, we 
are told that it was a most thriving and populous part 
of the country. Now there are few windmills, no boat 
builders, no milkwomen with yokes and brass bound pails, 
clattering along in their heavy wooden shoes. Nothing 
remains but tender-colored willows, waving grass, and 
thick masses of tall reeds surrounding one without end, 
stretches of dried and wet weed, where the whole coun- 
try side had been flooded, and sand hillocks rising above 
them. The stillness is broken only by the heron as he 
flaps lazily along over the shallows. So these roads ex- 
tend away from the coast, north, east, and south for miles. 

The present writer recalls tramping one of them near 
Furnes. All the morning crowds of peasants had been 
pouring into the town for the market, driving before 
them herds of cows, pigs and sheep. As it was the first 
Monday in the month there was a great fair held, one 
street being full of cows, others cheese and butter, and 
yet another leading into the quaint old square, close to 
the red brick tower of the ancient church, for the pigs. 

329 



BELGIUM OLD AND NEW 

A man, evidently some sort of official, passed up and 
down the row of grunting porkers putting rings in their 
noses; a proceeding which they bore with amazing non- 
chalance, and the chime in the belfry of the old church 
overhead keeping up a clangor the whole time. These 
are the self-same people that Teniers painted, and daily 
they are doing the very same things which he depicted 
in his paintings. Certainly no one can fully appreciate 
the great masters of Flanders until he has seen the coun- 
try in which they lived and painted. Theirs are pic- 
tures which have been painted by men who were con- 
tent to depict their country as it really appeared, they 

"Descry abundant worth 
In trivial commonplace." 

And so, if one carries a "holiday rejoicing spirit," one 
will find great profit in the trivial commonplace ; whether 
he chooses to imitate Hazlitt who said "one of the pleas- 
antest things in the world is going on a journey, but I 
like to go by myself," or whether he prefers like Sterne, 
"to have a companion, were it but to remark how the 
shadows lengthen as the sun declines," is a matter for 
his own decision. In any event it will do him great good 
to read Motley again. 

But to return to the future of La Panne, and the others 
like Coxyde and Lombaertzyde ; it is likely now that 
Belgium is so rapidly recovering from the effects of the 

330 



LA PANNE 

war, that the attention of the capitalists will again be 
fixed upon this Flemish Litoral. There were more than 
twenty busy embryo watering places, surrounded by vil- 
las and cottages, dotting the dunes, and a residential 
population of about sixty thousand, raised during the 
summer season to something like one hundred and 
twenty-five thousand. So these windy and solitary sand 
dunes, which were so savagely and so often fought over, 
have now turned into veritable gold mines for their own- 
ers. All about are picturesque and charming spots, gay 
with grass and flowers, ready to be built upon; and al- 
ways within sound is the restless yellow and gray North 
Sea rolling in on the smooth sandy beach that stretches 
for miles on either side. 

To the stranger Belgium holds out a welcoming hand; 
the gesture is at once appealing and pathetic. 

"Vive la Belgique!" 



331 



INDEX 



Abbey of the Dunes, 328 

Abbey of Saint Bavon, 137 

Academy of Painting and Sculpture, 
172 

Ada of Holland, 33 

Aix la Chapelle, Treaty of, 79 

Albert, Archduke, 124 

Albert, king of the Belgians, 90, 103, 
104, 105, 149, 291 

Albert, King, name and royal house- 
hold, 248 

Albert, Prince, 155 

Albert and Isabella of Burgundy, 

175 
Alva, Duke of, 51, 109, 124 
Anseele, 25 
Antwerp, 40 

Bourse, 58 

Chimes of, 63 

docks, 68 

in 16th century, 49 

meaning of name, 48 

Palace of Justice, 88 

town hall, 74 

what Napoleon said about 
it, 48 

Baldwin of the Iron Arm, 129 

Balzac, 37 

Bank, national, 89 

Belgian Independence, Anniversary 

of, 255 
Belgian laborer, mode of life, 145, 

232 
Belgian Limbourg, 29 

discussion of at 
Peace Conference 
in Paris, 43-48 
Belgium, annexation by France, 34 



Belgium, area of, 247 

Dutch oppression of, 81 
mineral wealth of, 245 
notes and characteristics, 
224 
Bismarck, 238 
Bruges, 150 

Belfry Tower, 170 
" English Colony, 151 

Grande Place, 167 
" Hotel de Ville, 167 
Brussels, 92 

College of Music, 120 
derivation of name, 105 
library, 107 
Palace of Justice, 122 
population of, 103 
restaurant life compared 

with that of Paris, 115 
Royal Museum, 124 
Brussels Carpet, 176 

Caesar, Julius, 177, 230, 290 

Camille le Monier, 93 

Campine, 28 

Carol, 90 

Carrier-Belleuse, life and work of, 

96 
Cathedral of St. Waltrudis, 227 
Cathedral, Tournai, 177 
Caxton, William, 164, 171 
Celebration of the Liquification, 175 
Chapel of the Crusaders, 182 
Chapel of St. George, 229 
Chasse of St. Eleuthere, 184 
Chateau of the Counts, 129 
Chiens de trait, milk wagons drawn 

by dogs, 141 
Childeric, 177 



333 



INDEX 



Childeric, I, treasure of, 183 
Chimes of Antwerp, 63 
Charlemagne, 205, 270 

birthplace, 200 
Charles, the Bold, 139, 202 

tomb of, 159 
Charles, Prince, of Lorraine, 121 
Charles of Spain, 182 
Charles II, 150 
Charles II, King of Spain, 11 
Charles V, 63, 135, 137, 177 
Charles V, Emperor, 129 
Charles X, 82 
Clays, J. P., 94 
Cloth Hall, Tournai, 186 
Colard Mansion, 164, 171 
College of Music, Brussels, 120 
Congo Colony, 235 
Congres, 113 
Conscience, Henri, 90 
Constitution, Belgian, 250, 252 
Couillet, 189 
Crecy, Battle of, 219 
Cromwell, Oliver, 155 

Davis, Newnham, 1 17 

de Crayer, 115 

de Lalaing, Count James, 95 

Destruction of Belgian Forests 

Germans, 283-8 
Dinant, Notre Dame of, 271, 277 
Dinant and the Mosan Towns, 268 
Don John of Austria, 153 
Dot, Louis, 92 
Diirer, Albrecht, diary of, 52 

Edward II, 130 
Edward III, 129, 158 
Edward IV, 159 
Elizabeth, Queen, 49 
English Colony, Bruges, 151 
Estaminets, 143 

Faro, 37, 99 
Ferdinand, Archduke, 57 



Flemings, characteristics of, 226 
Flemings and Walloons, comparison, 

144 
Flemish tongue, 246 
Forest of Arden, 283 
Francis I, 129, 177 
Frederick William, Prince, of Orange 

Nassau, 81 
Fuggers, the, 49 
Fust, 110 

Gardens of Ghent, Botanical, 126 

Gamier, Charles, 89 

Geffs, the brothers, 95 

German Occupation of Dinant, 278 

Germans, Destruction of Belgian 

Forests by, 283-8 
Ghent, 125 

botanical gardens of, 126 
exclusiveness of Society, 127 

" Hotel de Ville, 129 

" Old Market Place, 128 
Palace of Justice, 128 

" population (175,000), 136 

" University of, 128 
Godefroy de Bouillon, 95, 1 13,290 
Godshuis, 165 
Grand Place, Bruges, 167 
by Grande Nethe, 30 

Grande Tonlieu, the, 171 
Graviere, 90 
Great Boland Bell, 128 
Francis I, 177 
Guiccardini, 199 
Guild of the Archers, no 
Guild House of the Bakers, ill 
Guild of the Boatmen, no, 137 
Guild of the Brewers, ill 
Guild of the Butchers, ill 
Guild of the Carpenters, 110 
Guild of the Carriers, 172 
Guild of Genoese Traders, 157 
Guild of the Masons, 110 
Guild of the Printers and Book- 
sellers, no 

334 



INDEX 



Guild of the Silk Mercers, 110 
Guimard, 122 
Gutenberg, no 

Hall of Weights and Measures, ill 

Hanseatic League, 158 

Henry IV, 130 

Henry VIII, 177 

Hill, Emanuel, 90 

Holland, 28 

Hospital of St. John, 158, 163 

Hotel de Ville, Bruges, 167 

Hotel de Ville, Brussels, 108 

Hotel de Ville, Ghent, 129 

Hotel de Ville, Mons, 213, 228 

House of Aldermen, ill 

House of the Scales, ill 

Infanta Isabella, 124 
Isabella of Spain, 180 

James, Duke of York, 150 

Jasper, M., 25 

Jean Cosyns, ill 

Jesuits, English, of Saint Omer, 

156 
Jews, 105, 246 
John of Gaunt, 129 
John of Ghent, 137 
Jordaens, 51 
Joseph, Emperor, 177 

King and Queen, 316 

Knights of the Golden Fleece, 159 

La Panne, 324 

La Lys, great linen mill, 140 

Le Bruxellois, 112 

L'Etoile, 92 

Ledeganck, 90, 125 

Legends and Superstitions 
Antigonus, bones of, 75 
Belief in "the little people," 201 
Chapel of the Holy Blood, 161 
The Holy Blood, story of, 16 1 
The Long Wapper, 66 



Legends, etc. — continued 

Salvius Brabo, King of Tongres, 
75 
Leopold, Prince, Saxe-Coburg, 82 
Leopold I, 155, 235 
Leopold II, 84, 236 
LeTellier, Adolphus, 116 
Leys, 88 

Library, Royal, 113 
Liege, 37, 198 

the Palace, 208 

University of, 205 
Limbourg Campine, 31 
Linden, Julius, brought orchids to 

Europe, 126 
London, Treaty of, 81 
Loreling Sisters, 90 
Los, 32 
Louis XI, 202 
Louis XIV, 182 

Maison de la Toison cF Or, 229 

Maison du Roi, 108 

Margaret of Austria, 180 

Marguerite of Constantinople, 139 

Margaret of Parma, 179 

Marie Antoinette, 200 

Maria Theresa, 80, 177 

Maris, the brothers, 94 

"Marmion," 202 

Marshall Foch, 293 

Mary of Burgundy, life of, 187 

Maeterlinck, 93 

Mauve, 94 

Maximilian, Archduke, 160 

Maximilian of Bavaria, 198 

Memling, Hans, 114, 163 

Memling, Hans, House of, 157 

Mercier, Cardinal, 244 

Church of, 61 
life of, 301-515 

Metsys, life of, 51, 55 

Meuse, River, 198, 268 

Michaelangelo, 150 

Mons, 213 



335 



INDEX 



Mons, Hotel de Ville, 213, 228 
Munster, Treaty of, 47 
Museum, Royal, 124 

Napoleon, 176 

Napoleon III, 211 

Nation Beige, 25 

Newnham, Davis, "The Gourmet's 

. Guide to Europe," 220 
Newspapers, Belgian, 252 
Notre Dame, of Dinant, 271, 277 

Old Market Place, Ghent, 128 
Opera House, Flemish, 62 
Ostend, 222 
Ourthe, River, 198 

Painters' Guild, the, 111 

Palace of Justice, Antwerp, 88 

Palace of Justice, Brussels, 122 

Palace of Justice, Ghent, 128 

Panier d' Or, 168 

People, Characteristics of, 94 

Mode of Living, 182, 217 
Workmen's Wages, 37 

Petit, Henry, 92 

Philip, the Bold of Burgundy, 137 

Philip, the Fair, 160 

Philip Augustus, 177 

Philippe of Hainault, 130 

Philippe the Handsome, 182 

Pierre Lanchals, 166 

Plantin, Christopher, master printer, 
69 

Christopher, life of, 72 

Polaert, 113 

Polyglot Bible, 72 

Pont des Lions, 166 

Portaels, Simonis, 113 

Princess d' Epinoy, 177 

statue of, 186 

Protestants, 246 



Queen of Belgians, 105 
Queen Victoria, 155 



"Quentia Durward," 198 

Regnard, 109 
Railways, State, 26 
Religion, State, 246 
Renkin, M., 25 
Restaurants and Cafes. 

Cafe de Paris, 115 

Duranton's, 116 

Epaule de Mouton, 115, 116 

Faille Dechiree, 116 

Filet de Boeuf, 116 

Gigot de Mouton, 116 

The Grand Hotel Grill Room, 115 

Justines, 1 18 

Le Sabot, 118 

Lion d' Or, 116 

Wiltcher's, 116 
Rodin, Auguste, life of, 96 
Rohma, the, 194 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 84 
Royal Academies of Art, 244 
Rubens, 51, 65, 88, 95 
chapel of, 77 
funeral, 78 
work of, 76 

Saint-Brice, Church of, 182 
St. George, Chapel of, 229 
St. Jacques, Church of, 63, 206 
St. Jean, Church of, 182 
St. John, Hospital of, 158 
'"'St. Martin, Church of, 208 
St. Nicholas, Church of, 135 
St. Paul, Church of, 207 
St. Sauveur, 159 
Sainte Gudule, Cathedral of, 1 12 
Scheldt, 40, 176 
Schiller's "Wallenstein," 199 
Scott, Sir Walter, "Legend of Mont- 
rose," 151 
" " " "Marmion," 202 
" " " "Quentin Dur- 
ward," 198, 202, 
208 



336 



INDEX 



Sculptors, Belgian, 95 

Senne River, 107 

Shakespeare, William, 130 

Sheffer, ill 

Simonis, Eugene, 95 

Societies Anonymes, 213 

Society of Bardi, 158 

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 

to Animals, 142 
Spanish Inquisition, 65 

Tadema, Alma, 94 

Tailors' Guild, the, 111 

Teniers, 51, 88 

Thackeray, 119 (George Osborne 

and Lord Bareacres) 
Theater, Flemish, 88 
Theater Royal, 61 

Thy-le-Chateau, destruction by Ger- 
mans, 193 
Tournai, 176 

Cathedral, 181 
Hotel de Ville, 181 
Town Hall, Dinant, 278 
Treaty of Aix la Chapelle, 79 
" London, 81 
" Utrecht, 79 
" Vienna, 81 

United States Loan, 104 
University of Ghent, 128 
Utrecht, Treaty of, 79 



Van Beers, 90 

Van Dyke, 51, 88, 95 

Van Eycks, the, 125 

the, life and works, 130 
Van Hasselt, Andre, 90 
Van Rosbourg, life and works, 96 
Van Ruysbroeck, Jean, 108 
Van Ryswyck, 88 
van der Goes, Hugo, 115 
Van der Weyden, 114 
Vandervelde, 25 
Verhaeren, 93 
Victor de Poitiers, 129 
Victoria, Queen, 83 
Vienna, Treaty of, 81 
Viscount Tarah, 150 
Von Bissing, Baron, 308 

Walloon country, 38 

Walloons, racial characteristics, 201 

Walloons and Flemings, differences 

in spech and temperament, 89 
Wauters, 25 

William I of Holland, 44 
Wolsey, Cardinal, 177 
Wumba, the, 194 

Ypres, 173 

Yser, the glorious story of, 291 

Zeeland, Dutch, dispute over, 40 



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